"Death" of SIM card dealer system?

"We sell genuine SIM cards but now we can't sell them anymore. I'm so worried. Times are tough and making a living is already hard," said Loan (55 years old), owner of a SIM card dealership on Ton Dan Street (District 4, HCMC).

Sitting and selling from 8am to 10pm, Ms. Loan can't remember the number of times she had to shake her head when people came in to ask to buy SIM cards. Ms. Loan guided customers to the Viettel store across the street, but many people were hesitant because they were only used to buying SIM cards at agents.

Pointing at the table, Ms. Loan counted more than 1,000 unregistered SIM cards that could not be sold. Now she had to report the number of SIM cards left to the network operator.

Previously, the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) said that from September 10, all network operators nationwide will stop issuing mobile SIMs at agents.

After this information, the network operator cut off the agent's user account, making it impossible for her to register new SIM owners for customers, and she could only sell phone cards.

Ms. Loan said that each 100,000 VND scratch card only makes a few cents profit. In fact, she would have to sell thousands of scratch cards to make a profit of 200,000 VND.

"Since the Covid-19 pandemic, people have changed their habits, topping up their phones online, through apps, so business has been narrowed and limited," said Ms. Loan.

Unable to sell SIM cards, phone cards are sluggish, she doesn't know what to do. Her whole family has lived off the SIM and phone card shop for more than 16 years, Ms. Loan has never witnessed such a difficult situation as the current one.

"Before, selling scratch cards didn't bring much profit, so the income of people like us was based on selling SIM cards. When a large group of tourists ordered a large number of tickets, we were very happy, and had money to pay the counter rent. Now, we really don't know how to make a living," Ms. Loan complained.

Earning 1,000 dong is very difficult

In early September, Ms. Loan heard about the "whistle blowing" on SIM dealers, but she simply thought it was to limit small, retail sales of SIMs without the owner's name. With her business, Ms. Loan had established a business according to regulations a long time ago.

In 2017, the Government issued Decree No. 49/2017/ND-CP regulating the management of mobile subscribers to overcome legal loopholes and increase efficiency and feasibility in managing subscriber information.

Accordingly, SIM dealers must register official users from the network operator, SIMs are not allowed to be pre-activated. Buyers must use their citizen identification card/ID card when registering to buy a SIM.

"SIM card agents like us do not dare to register fake cards because if the network operator finds out, they will immediately cut off business. Accordingly, agents must become enterprises to be strictly managed according to regulations," the agency owner analyzed, most of the SIM cards imported to the store are issued by network operator employees.

Therefore, even if the agent wants to buy registered SIM cards for sale, he cannot.

The difficult developments have caused the agency owner to lose sleep for many nights. Now, every morning when she rides her motorbike past the unemployment insurance registration point, she feels confused.

"It's not easy to earn 1,000 VND in this job. I strongly support the prevention of junk SIM cards, but how can we ensure that those who do business according to regulations do not lose their way to make a living?", SIM dealer owner.

Loan and her husband thought about closing the shop. Leaving this job when they were over 50 years old, both of them had only the option of working as janitors or driving motorbike taxis, which were much more difficult and unstable.

"Since the pandemic, there have been many long losses. I have been selling SIM cards here for more than ten years, and there are a few phone stores next door, but they have all gradually closed down, leaving only me. I don't know how long I can last," Loan sighed.