Users flag anomalies as NEIR portal shows dozens of phones registered against one NID
One user shared screenshots on Facebook of his NID and registered IMEI details, claiming that 53 handsets are registered in his name.
After registering with the National Equipment Identity Register (NEIR), many individuals are finding that multiple mobile phones are listed against their National Identity (NID) cards.
Information circulating on social media and other platforms shows cases where 10, 50 or even hundreds of phones appear to be registered under a single NID.
One user, Masum Billah Bhuiyan, shared last night (1 January) on Facebook screenshots of his NID and registered IMEI details, claiming that 53 handsets are registered in his name.
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He noted that 42 of those phones were registered in December alone.
This reporter, after completing NEIR registration, also found that eight phones are registered under their own name.
Beyond the unusually high number of phone registrations against individual NIDs, users have raised complaints about the NEIR system since its launch.
When contacted, Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb, special assistant to the chief adviser in charge of the ICT and telecommunications divisions, said, "We have received more than three billion datasets from operators. That means operators have uploaded everything into the system, including historical data.
"However, since the migration date is being shown as the current date, many people are seeing a higher number of active SIMs or handsets linked to their NIDs."
He added that the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) and mobile telecom operators are working jointly on the issue.
"Gradually, we will archive the historical data in the background and resolve the discrepancies," Faiz said.
He also clarified that the NEIR is not newly installed. "It existed before. An initial attempt to launch it was made in 2021. We have now activated it by adding some functional features."
In Bangladesh, an individual was initially allowed to use up to 20 SIM cards against a single NID, which was later reduced to 15. The limit is now being brought down to 10.
As a result, it is natural for NEIR mapping to show a much higher number of mobile phones against an NID due to historical data, Faiz said.
