Attempting to document the ownership of all mobile phone lines, the government has issued a strict set of guidelines for distributors and resellers, Nesma Nowar reports The National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA) announced this week a new system for operating and selling mobile phone lines for mobile companies. The new regulations, in effect as of last Sunday, demand complete and correct ownership data on all mobile lines sold in Egypt. The new system obligates distributors to issue a clear written contract and gather personal data from the consumer, including a copy of his ID card, after verifying his identity. Only then can the consumer call the line operator's call centre to activate the line. The system also obliges mobile operators to review the personal data of all existing customers. Khaled Hegazy, Vodafone's external affairs director, said that Vodafone has been working on completing and registering personal data for all Vodafone subscribers since 2007, when the government advised mobile operators to do so. He added that a written contract is a basic procedure to a sell a phone line, but some sellers started selling lines without having any data from buyers. The new regulations put an end to that. "The implementation of the new system guarantees that a mobile line will not be activated until the customer's correct data is registered in the operators' database," Hegazy said. The new regulations are part of NTRA efforts to monitor the market and protect consumers from malpractice. Fierce competition between mobile operators resulted in the selling of many lines without data obtained on users. Selling mobile lines without entering into official contracts registered in the operators database is a violation of the provisions of Article 64 of Telecommunication Regulation Law 10/2003 that stipulates that "telecommunication service providers and operators and their marketing agents shall have the right to collect accurate information and data concerning users from individuals and various entities within the state". Violators of the provisions of this article are punished according to Article 81 of same law: "a penalty of confinement to prison and a fine of not less than LE10,000 and not exceeding LE100,000 shall be inflicted on whoever violates any of the provisions of article [64] of this law". NTRA called upon mobile subscribers to cooperate in implementing the new regulations in order to ensure their security. It also stated that any mobile line with no available complete data would be disconnected. With the aim of eliminating malpractice, NTRA last month forced the country's three mobile operators to block service to all anonymous users and some non-licensed made-in-China cell phones. NTRA says it believes that these phones affect health and cannot be traced as they hold the same serial numbers as well-known international mobile brands. These measures led to the blocking of service to 1,600,000 mobile lines, shocking many Egyptians who found Chinese phones affordable. All Chinese phones in the market now have a one-year warranty to assure quality. "When it comes to Chinese phones, we only sell the phones with a guarantee," said Mohamed, owner of a mobile shop in Tahrir Street. "Consumers now feel more secure buying them."
