BTRC decides to block more than 10 SIMs from today

According to the decision of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), no more than 10 active SIMs can be kept against any National Identity Card (NID) from today, Saturday (November 1). Operators will start the process of deactivating excess SIMs from today. In a recent notification, BTRC said that after last Thursday (October 30), excess SIMs will be automatically blocked.
On July 30, the agency had said that no more than 10 SIMs can be kept in the name of any person. Blocking of excess SIMs will start from November. Their registration will have to be cancelled through the customer service of the concerned mobile operator. Earlier, a citizen could use 15 SIMs against one National Identity Card.
BTRC Chairman Major General (Retd) Emdad ul Bari said that operators will block excess SIMs from today (November 1). By next December, we will ensure that no more than 10 SIMs are active in the name of any NID.
According to statistics, the number of active mobile SIMs in the country as of March 2025 is 186.2 million. However, the actual number of subscribers is only 67.5 million. Of these, more than 80 percent have less than 5 SIMs in their names, about 16 percent have 6 to 10 SIMs, and only 3 percent of subscribers use more than 11 SIMs.
BTRC sources said that this decision has been implemented to restore order in SIM management and prevent fraud. Customers can check the number of SIMs registered in their NID online or by dialing *16002#. Incidentally, the ‘random selection’ policy will be followed in deactivating SIMs. As a result, a relatively important SIM card registered in the customer’s NID may also be deactivated.