Foreigners to use tracking SIM cards in Thailand

Posted in Real Estate Education on September 2, 2016 by Paul Leave a Comment

Telecom regulators have recently approved (in principle) a mandatory need for foreign visitors (in Thailand) to use specialised SIM cards in their mobile devices that authorities can track if need be.
The NBTC’s (National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission) secretary-general, Takorn Tantasith, speaking on this topic stated that this decision was taken in the interest of national security.

Takorn also said that whilst manufacturing SIM cards, mobile operators can potentially preset technical features in them to enable authorities and mobile operators alike to locate users, who must not have the power to turn off this function in order for it to be affective.

The NBTC is yet to discuss this measure with the telecom industry, the Customs Department as well as other related Thai agencies.
From the month of January through to July this year, a total of 19.06 million foreigners travelled to Thailand, which was an increase of 12% year-on-year as per Thailand’s Tourism and Sports Ministry.

Keywords/phrases – Thailand, SIM cards, Telecom