The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has directed telecom service providers (TSPs) to stop issuing additional mobile connections to individuals who have already reached the prescribed limit, with the strengthened enforcement system coming into effect from August 24, 2026.
The move does not introduce a new nine-SIM rule; rather, it seeks to enforce the existing ceiling more strictly across telecom operators. Under a DoT circular dated August 17, operators will use the government’s Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP) and representative subscriber photographs to identify people attempting to obtain connections beyond the permitted limit.
In most parts of India, an individual can hold up to nine mobile connections, while the ceiling is six in Jammu and Kashmir, Assam and the North-East. The limit applies cumulatively across operators, meaning a person cannot hold nine SIMs with each telecom company.
Initially, verification may happen on a post-facto basis, with any excess connection activated during the transition required to be suspended until the issue is resolved. DoT has directed telecom companies to make the system fully integrated into real-time enrolment and activation by November 30, 2026.
The government says the objective is to ensure that subscribers use mobile connections only within the prescribed limit, strengthening traceability and helping prevent misuse of telecom resources.
Photo Checks For SIMs
From August 24, telecom operators will have to introduce technical and organisational measures to identify applicants seeking a new connection after already reaching their applicable limit.
The DoT circular says operators must use a representative image of the subscriber’s photograph to identify such individuals and communicate that they have already reached the maximum number of connections permitted to them.
From August 23, these representative photographs of subscribers who have reached the prescribed limit will be made available to operators through DIP, with companies required to download the images daily.
DIP is designed to consolidate subscriber information uploaded by telecom companies, allowing connections associated with an individual to be identified across different operators and licensed service areas.
This is particularly important because the limit is cumulative: someone holding four Airtel connections, three Jio connections and two Vodafone Idea connections would already have nine connections and could not obtain a tenth from another operator.
DoT has also retained the requirement for customers to declare the mobile connections already held in their name across operators and licensed service areas in the Customer Application Form (CAF).
The Department has described the purpose of the new arrangement as ensuring that each individual subscriber is able to subscribe to and use mobile connections only within the prescribed limit.
Existing Rule, Stronger Enforcement
The nine-connection ceiling has been in place since DoT instructions issued on August 9, 2012, so August 24 does not mark the creation of a new restriction on ordinary mobile users.
DoT’s own telecom overview has previously stated that individual mobile subscribers can register up to nine connections and highlighted the TAFCOP system, which enables consumers to check mobile connections issued in their name and take action to regularise additional connections.
The latest change is about enforcement: instead of relying largely on separate operator records and customer declarations, the government is creating a more coordinated cross-network check through DIP. The need for tighter monitoring also comes against a wider government push to tackle fraudulent and unauthorised mobile connections.
In a 2025 Rajya Sabha response, the Communications Ministry said DoT had identified 4,05,307 individuals in West Bengal holding more than nine connections and had disconnected 13,59,934 mobile connections belonging to such individuals after re-verification over the previous five years.
The government said it uses artificial intelligence and big-data analytical tools to identify connections beyond prescribed limits and shares information with telecom operators through DIP for re-verification and subsequent disconnection.
The latest system initially allows next-day verification, but any connection found to have crossed the applicable limit must be immediately suspended until the matter is resolved.
By November 30, operators are expected to integrate the checks into the live enrolment and activation process, reducing the gap between obtaining a SIM and detecting an excess connection.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
The government’s attempt to make SIM ownership more accountable comes at a time when mobile numbers are increasingly central to everyday communication as well as financial fraud, impersonation, spam and other forms of cybercrime. A stronger cross-operator system can help close loopholes through which individuals or organised networks might otherwise accumulate connections across multiple telecom companies.
At the same time, any technology-driven identification system involving subscriber photographs and centrally shared information must be implemented with accuracy, transparency and safeguards for genuine users. A person should not be denied a legitimate connection because of an incorrect match, an outdated record or a SIM that was wrongly registered in their name.
Also read: AP: 6-Year-Old Vizag Boy Dies After Teacher Allegedly Slaps Him Over Homework; FIR Registered
