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Published : 01 Nov 2025, 12:00 PM
The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has begun a nationwide move to deactivate mobile SIM cards registered under a single person’s name if the total exceeds 10.
The process, starting on Saturday, follows a six-month notice given to users to de-register excess SIMs through their mobile operators by Oct 30.
The regulator says the move aims to curb misuse, though some users may face temporary disruption.
In a meeting held in May, the BTRC reduced the maximum number of SIMs allowed under one name from 15 to 10.
According to the commission, the decision will affect around 2.6 million users, resulting in the shutdown of about 6.7 million SIMs nationwide.
Subscribers can check how many SIMs are registered under their name by dialling *16001#, and can de-register extra numbers through their operators.
BTRC Chairman Emdad ul Bari said the deactivation process would be carried out in phases.
“We will prepare a list of users with more than 10 SIMs and identify how many are registered under each operator,” he said at a press conference last week.
“The operators will then be instructed to deactivate the extra SIMs, starting with the least-used ones,” he added.
Bari acknowledged that there remains a risk that a user’s primary SIM could be mistakenly turned off during the process.
He said the regulation had become necessary because multiple SIMs were often used to operate vehicle trackers and IoT devices, but those connections now have separate categories.
Bari also said the government planned to further tighten the limit in stages, under pressure from law-enforcing agencies and the home ministry.
The BTRC first introduced a 15-SIM limit per person in 2017. The latest decision, taken on May 19, followed a review that found most users do not require so many connections.
The commission said the move was based on concerns over national security, unhealthy competition among operators, and international regulatory standards.
BTRC data from May showed Bangladesh has about 67.6 million active mobile users, compared with 186 million SIMs sold.
Of those users, 80 percent have five or fewer SIMs, 16 percent hold between five and 10, and 3.4 percent between 11 and 15.
A commission review also identified irregular registration practices.
