In a bid to ease the process involved in the 'My Number, My Identity' campaign, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) has instructed the two mobile service providers - Etisalat and du - to speed up online registration services. "The TRA also instructed the operators to speed up the launch of the online registration services to accelerate the process and ease the load on the commercial outlets," read a statement from TRA. With many customers complaining about the tedious process involved in registering their SIM cards, the TRA has decided to step in with the online alternative. "It would be helpful if the required documents could be uploaded online. The current process is tedious," wrote in a reader from Abu Dhabi. "Since we need to submit only copies of our identity documents, it makes better sense to upload them online. This will prove to be less time consuming and more efficient," reasons S Kumar, another resident. The TRA had recently extended the deadline, by three months, for the first batch of customers as they found the service providers were unable "to provide smooth mechanisms to facilitate, accelerate and stimulate subscribers to update their data". The TRA has since instructed Eitsalat and du to improve their mechanisms and increase the number of commercial outlets that are easily accessible for subscribers. The move has been put in place so that subscribers can safeguard their identity and avoid them from getting involved in legal or financial misuse. Currently the process requires the customer to head to a centre, listed by the service provider, and submit an application form along with copies of their ID proof. This is a one-time process and will ensure that SIMS are not cancelled. Emirates 24|7
