Mobile operators have been warned that their operating licences will be immediately revoked if they fail to register personal information of prepaid SIM cards used in their mobile phones from now on.
The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) says operators can also be fined if a mobile phone with an unregistered SIM card is used for an illicit activity or a crime.
The warning came after the recent bombings in provinces in the South.
The strict penalties came after a meeting yesterday between NBTC commissioners and more than 20 mobile service providers, including mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs). The meeting was held at the Thai Army Club.
Takorn Tantasith, the NBTC's secretary-general, said the regulator still gets "not registered" on its online registration network despite the enactment of prepaid SIM card regulations last year to prevent someone from using a mobile device to commit crime.
"There are no more warning messages from now on," he said. "Operators who allow prepaid customers to use mobile services without prior registration will have their mobile operating licences revoked immediately."
The regulator is worried about the standard of SIM card registration of MVNOs, as they are small mobile service providers that may lack staff to meet this requirement.
An industry source, who declined to be named, said Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan urged the NBTC last week to force mobile operators to comply with the registration rules in order to address the problem of mobile phones being used for criminal activities.
The source said the government found that there were 36 mobile numbers involving the recent bombs in the South, three of which had not been registered.
"The 33 prepaid SIM cards were sold via the Lazada website, and using foot photos for registration," the source said. "This case sparked anger from the government's security authority and disappointment with the NBTC's SIM registration regulations."
The NBTC plans to launch a software application this year allowing mobile phone users with mobile banking to securely identify themselves with their fingerprints.
The regulator spent 7 million baht developing the new application, which would complement existing registration systems.
The NBTC said that while it would not force mobile users to register with the new system, registration would be to their benefit.