Issue mobile user card with every phone connection: CII

New Delhi, Dec 10 (IANS) The government should issue mobile user card to every customer through post offices to avoid the misuse of phone connections by terrorists and other miscreants, an industry lobby said Wednesday.

India, being the second largest telecom market in the world, adds eight million customers every month on an average, which makes it difficult to keep a track on the identity of customers, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) said in the letter to the Department of Telecom (DoT).

Additionally, it is almost impossible to ensure safe storage of the customer application forms (CAF), which have crossed 100 crore (1 billion) till date (including churn customers - those who switch operators frequently).

With almost 155,516 post offices operating across the country, they can have a better reach in the remote areas, the industry body said.

According to the CII proposal, those who want to take new phone connection will have to visit the nearest post office with all relevant documents (proof of identity and address).

The same will be verified by the post office, which in turn will issue phone user numbers (unique to each new phone connection) to the customers.