Something that has been going on South Asia (efficiently or not) is now going to happen in China too, according to the NYT.
The Chinese government on Wednesday began to require cellphone users to furnish identification when buying SIM cards, a move officials cast as an effort to rein in burgeoning cellphone spam, pornography and fraud schemes.
The requirement, which has been in the works for years, is not unlike rules in many developed nations that ask users to present credit card data or other proof of identification to buy cellphone numbers. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said that about 40 percent of China’s 800 million cellphone users were currently unidentified. Those users will be ordered to furnish identification by 2013 or lose their service, according to The Global Times, a state-run newspaper.
There is nothing wrong about it as long as the verification process doesn’t impede the Chinese mobile growth. However, a national database – containing every citizens’ profile – is essential to achieve the goal. That’s a mammoth task and the Chinese are not shy to move the mountain either.
Universal service raises the consumers’ expectation. If the provider fails to meet the demand, the consumers challenge the norms and defiantly avail the service. This is where effective regulation becomes critical for universal access.