Roskomnadzor will check the data of subscribers to combat gray SIM cards

Russian operators began to send push notifications to subscribers asking them to confirm their personal data. To do this, customers need to visit the salon or go to their personal account on the “Gosuslugi”. By data source of Kommersant on the market, the reason lies in the upcoming inspections of Roskomnadzor.

The interlocutor claims that in May the department plans to check the current personal data of subscribers of companies to identify active gray SIM cards.

Roskomnadzor confirmed the conduct of “monitoring the reliability of information about subscribers entered by operators into databases.” To do this, the agency uses an information system that automatically detects inaccurate information about the operators’ clients. If a discrepancy is found, the operator must clarify the information or stop providing services to the subscriber, Roskomnadzor explained. More than 423,000 gray SIM cards have been seized since 2018, including 152,000 in 2022, according to the agency.

According to an industry source, there are up to 20 million active subscribers in Russia with unconfirmed data, and the average monthly income (ARPU) from one communication subscriber in Russia is 350 rubles. Within months, operators may lose up to 7 billion rubles, the interlocutor did not rule out. According to him, the monitoring system also applies to legal entities and individual entrepreneurs.

At the same time, Alexander Sivolobov, Deputy Head of the Skoltech-based NTI Competence Center for Wireless Communications and the Internet of Things, noted that operators will not suffer major losses in the near future. According to him, it should take at least 6 months for the subscriber base to decrease. During this time, subscribers will solve the problems that have arisen or “get rid of extra unused SIM cards.”

IN MTS“MegaFon”, “Vimpelcom” and Tele2 answered the newspaper that they “responsibly approach the implementation of legal requirements” and regularly confirm customer data.

In December 2020, amendments to the law “On Communications” were adopted, according to which companies are required to register data on end users of SIM cards in the Unified Identification and Authentication System (ESIA). The operator must independently verify the accuracy of information about the subscriber. In this case, without identity confirmation, the company is obliged to stop servicing such a number. Controls compliance with Roskomnadzor requirements using a special information monitoring network.