AMMAN -- The government introduced new regulations this week, making it compulsory for mobile stores to send information on buyers of prepaid SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) cards to telecom operators immediately.
Under the new amended regulations published in the Official Gazette on Sunday, mobile shops selling prepaid SIM cards should electronically send all information related to the buyer in order for the SIM cards to be documented.
Mobile shops should pass the information to telecom operators when the buyer signs a contract to buy the SIM card, and this data should be sent before the SIM card is handed over to its owner, according to the new regulations.
The new regulations also obligate mobile stores to keep a photocopy of the Jordanian buyer's identification card, or a copy of the military appointment certificate if the buyer is a Jordan Armed Forces employee.
Under previous regulations, only a copy of the ID was allowed.
For non-Jordanians, mobile stores are required to keep a photocopy of any of the following: passport, residency permit, work permit, driving licence or visa, and in the case of Gazans, a copy of their residency card.
Under previous regulations, foreigners needed to submit a photocopy of their passport to buy a prepaid SIM card.
"What is new in the regulations is that this information should now be sent to operators on the spot... in addition, non-Jordanians can now present either a copy of their visa or residency permit to buy a SIM card, not necessarily their passport," an owner of a mobile shop in Amman told The Jordan Times on Monday.
"Many Syrians who fled to Jordan come to buy SIM cards, but sometimes they do not have a passport. Some of them have a residency permit or identification cards or documents. It will now be easier for them to buy prepaid SIM cards," the store owner said.
By the end of June, there were 9.9 million mobile subscriptions in Jordan, around 9.2 million of which are for prepaid SIM cards, according to Telecommunications Regulatory Commission figures.
The regulations obligate mobile shops to sign a contract with buyers, keep a copy and send a hardcopy with a photocopy of the identification documents to the operators.
They should also keep a file with the names and addresses of buyers of SIM cards and commit to not publishing their personal information, according to the regulations.
© Jordan Times 2013
