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Mobile phone users will have to provide ID information
By Wang Xing and Xie Yu (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-02-04 07:57
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Although major Chinese mobile operators yesterday denied media reports that a real-name ID system will be adopted to mobile phone users as early as this April, experts said the practice is just a matter of time.
Beijing Business Today reported on Tuesday that, as soon as this April, mobile phone users in Beijing will need to register their real names when purchasing SIM cards. Also, they will have to provide real personal information in the next three to four years.
Wang Lijian, spokesman from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, told China Daily that he "has not heard the news that the real-name system is going to be adopted this April".
Publicity department personnel from China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom all said that they have not received any information about the start of real-name registration.
"If the government is going to adopt it, we will definitely cooperate. But it will be a very tough task," said Yi Difei, spokesman from China Unicom.
Experts said the government will not likely roll out the project as quickly as April since "it is a very large task", but said that the idea seems to be an irreversible trend.
"Upgrading the registration system will cost at least 5 billion yuan," said Xiang Ligang, editor-in-chief of China Communications World magazine.
In addition, real-name systems will hurt the mobile operators' interests, he said. The companies are actually benefitting from the spam by charging SMS fees. The new regulation will put them in the same boat as the spam producers, whose income will be reduced by 5 to 10 percent, he said.
"So the mobile operators may resist the adoption of the real-name system, but if the higher authority decides to push for the project, they will have to cooperate," he said.
Although the system is like adding an invisible firewall for the mobile phone, some users worry about the safety of their personal information and privacy, said Chen Jinqiao, another telecom expert.
Meanwhile, the process of registration should be simplified so that the real-name system could be extended quickly, China News Agency reported.
"From a long-term perspective, the real-name system will help the development of the telecommunications industry, as it would lay a good foundation for 3G networks and the mobile e-business," Xiang said.
Mobile phone real-name systems have been implemented in several countries, including Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Japan and Singapore.
