Users must link their cell phone to the INE and the CURP or they will lose the line

From this Friday until next June 30, all cell phone users – both prepaid and postpaid – must link their telephone number to their INE or passport, as well as to their CURP; If you do not do so, your line will be disabled by the service providers.

The official provision has the objective of creating a telephone registry through which users are fully identified – particularly prepaid users, who until now can acquire airtime without the need to identify themselves – and thus prevent telephone lines from being used for the commission of crimes, in accordance with what was approved at the beginning of December of last year by the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (CRT).

To carry out the registration, users must go directly to their provider or do it remotely. Legal entities must submit their RFC to incorporate the lines of their collaborators into the registry.

This will allow greater transparency and control over the information linked to each user.

In a statement, Telcel pointed out that since it is an official provision, it is essential that users complete the link as soon as possible to avoid impacts on the service. “Telcel reaffirms its commitment to inform, accompany and facilitate this process for all its clients.”

On December 8, the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission approved and issued the guidelines to link each telephone line to a natural or legal person and eliminate anonymity, which allows crimes to be committed.

For years, postpaid lines have been obtained through a contract, so they are only granted to people and companies that identify themselves. On the other hand, in prepaid it is only necessary to buy credit with cash or card to obtain airtime without having to identify yourself.

The personal data provided to the registration of mobile phone users that will begin tomorrow, will be protected by the relevant law, since providers, such as Telmex, Movistar and AT&T, must establish and maintain administrative, technical and physical security measures that protect this information.

The information collected will be confidential, according to chapter 4 of the agreement, through which the plenary session of the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission approves and issues the guidelines for the identification of mobile telephone lines.

Suppliers must protect personal data against damage, loss, alteration, destruction or unauthorized use, access or processing.

In turn, they must only protect the name or company name of the user, CURP or RFC; associated telephone number; type of official identification, as well as the result and the source against which the identity validation was carried out.

Platform creation

The commission’s guidelines order the creation of the mobile telephone line consultation platform, which is a technological solution for mobile telephone service providers that will allow holders and/or users to consult the cellular lines they have linked.

“On the consultation platform you can safely validate and verify the lines that are associated with your name and disassociate yourself from those that you do not identify as your own,” the CRT told this newspaper.

In turn, the guidelines give rise to the mobile telephone line management platform, which will function as a mechanism for service providers, with which they will carry out the linking or unlinking of lines.

The CRT commented that when a cell phone user changes telephone operator, they must go through the process of identifying or linking their cell phone number, while disconnection from the old operator will be automatic.

The agreement highlights article 10, which establishes that mobile telephone providers will limit the maximum number of lines that can be linked by natural persons, allowing up to 10.

However, this will not apply to legal entities, nor to natural persons with business activity. For them, the operator will require proof of tax status, in order to prove the circumstance.

The guidelines establish that operators must enable for 15 days or for the period determined by the CRT those lines that are not linked and that are located in the affected area.