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Switzerland to insist on Prepaid registration |
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Home The Swiss parliament decided last year to make registration mandatory for prepaid cards. By law, all mobile providers will have be able to provide information about customers buying their prepaid products for at least two years after the purchase. As of 1 July 2004, customers will have to register when buying a prepaid card from Swisscom Mobile (NATEL easy). Those who started using their NATEL easy cards on or after 1 November 2002 will have to register retrospectively. The authorities are aiming to limit the misuse of prepaid cards by these measures. Customers will be registered when they buy a NATEL easy SIM card. For verification, proof of identity will be required in the form of a valid passport, identity card or other travel document accepted for entry into Switzerland. In addition to the customer's personal details, Swisscom Mobile must also record the type of and number of the form of identification presented. The NATEL easy card will only be activated for use when all the necessary customer details have been recorded. Customers attempting to make calls with an unregistered prepaid card will hear a greeting prompting them to register their NATEL easy card. On 23 June 2004, the Federal Council decided that prepaid customers who started using SIM cards on or after 1 November 2002 would have until 31 October 2004 to register. Swisscom Mobile will seek to ensure that the registration of these customers takes place in line with the statutory requirements and in as customer-friendly a manner as possible. The customers affected will be prompted via SMS to register their SIM cards. Registration can be made wherever Swisscom Mobile NATEL subscriptions can be purchased. In addition to the customers' personal details, Swisscom Mobile will also have to record their SIM card and mobile phone numbers. In accordance with the regulation, Swisscom Mobile will be obliged to block the access of customers who have not registered by 31 October 2004. Retrospective registration also applies to those prepaid customers who have already registered voluntarily with Swisscom Mobile in the past. The only exceptions are NATEL® easy customers who have registered formally (i.e. on presentation of a valid passport or identity card) in a Swisscom Shop since the middle of April 2004. On the basis of current information, Swisscom Mobile believes that several hundred thousand NATEL easy customers will have to register retrospectively. |