NTRA Tightens SIM Registration Rules to Verify Actual Users and Protect Personal Data
Egypt’s National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA) is implementing tighter rules governing the registration and activation of mobile lines, with new controls designed to verify the identity of actual SIM holders and prevent unauthorized registrations, NTRA Executive President Mohamed Shamroukh said.
The measures follow recent complaints involving mobile lines found to have been registered using citizens’ personal data without their knowledge or possession, prompting regulatory inspections and a broader review of safeguards across the mobile market.
Shamroukh said the new regulatory framework is designed to strengthen control over the entire SIM registration and activation process, ensure subscriber records accurately reflect the individuals who actually hold the lines, and provide stronger protection for citizens’ personal information.
The measures are also intended to close gaps that could allow similar cases to recur, as mobile numbers have become increasingly linked to financial services, government platforms and other digital transactions.
NTRA has already introduced a package of urgent measures following meetings with Egypt’s four mobile operators. These include tighter controls on the sale and activation of SIM cards, procedures to regularize existing lines registered through corporate systems, and an expansion of biometric identity verification.
Mobile operators have also been instructed to accelerate the introduction of biometric verification through their applications, creating an additional layer of authentication between a subscriber’s identity and the mobile line registered in their name.
Shamroukh said NTRA will apply strict regulatory penalties under operators’ licensing rules where violations are identified. Cases involving suspected criminal activity in mobile-line contracts will be referred to the Public Prosecution to determine criminal responsibility.
The tougher controls come after NTRA referred Egypt’s four mobile operators to the Public Prosecution over violations related to lines registered in users’ names without their knowledge.
The regulator is seeking to build a SIM registration system in which the identity of the actual user can be reliably verified, reducing opportunities for identity misuse while strengthening trust in mobile numbers as a gateway to Egypt’s expanding digital services ecosystem.