Surprise because the subscriber is locked
Since Circular 08/2026/TT-BKHCN of the Ministry of Science and Technology on verifying mobile subscriber information officially took effect from April 15, many users have not had time to update information according to regulations, leading to a situation where subscribers are blocked in one direction or communication is interrupted.
Lao Dong reporter's records on May 5 show that, although it was near noon, at many stores belonging to Viettel and MobiFone systems in Hanoi, the number of customers coming to carry out authentication procedures was still large. Many cases were elderly people, facing difficulties in accessing technology, forcing them to go directly to the store for support.
Ms. Vu Thi Luong (87 years old, residing in Ngoc Ha ward) is one of such cases. About 3 days ago, Ms. Luong's phone only received incoming calls but could not go out. Previously, the network operator sent a message requesting verification of subscriber information, but due to limited vision and phone use skills, Ms. Luong could not operate it herself.
I don't understand why my phone is like this. Asking the children at home, I learned that it is necessary to verify the subscriber information, so today I asked my nephew to take me to the store to check and follow the regulations" - Ms. Luong shared.
This reality causes pressure at transaction points to increase significantly. Ms. Tran Thi Minh Anh - store manager of a MobiFone transaction point on Nguyen Van Huyen street - said that on average, the store receives about 200-300 customers per day, the peak is in the morning from 8am to 12pm and in the afternoon from 5:30pm to 8pm.
According to Ms. Anh, most elderly customers are not familiar with smartphone operations, so the store must arrange priority areas and step-by-step support staff. In addition, some cases arise such as customers mistakenly confirming their subscriber status or worrying when the service is blocked, which also causes the workload to increase sharply.
We always try to handle it as quickly as possible to ensure the rights of customers, and at the same time provide specific guidance to help people understand the process, avoiding unnecessary confusion," Ms. Anh said.
People don't need to worry too much
Talking to Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Nguyen Anh Cuong - Deputy Director of the Telecommunications Authority (Ministry of Science and Technology) said that the initial review process has recorded nearly 900,000 subscribers identified as not using, i.e., not owning. Among these, there are cases where users proactively refuse on the system, as well as subscribers who do not verify according to the notice and have been temporarily suspended from one-way service according to the handling roadmap.
The Deputy Director of the Telecommunications Authority also informed that there are currently more than 95 million subscribers synchronized to the electronic identification system. Of which, more than 60 million subscribers have been confirmed by people to use their own owners, and about 34 million subscribers have not yet confirmed.
According to Mr. Nguyen Anh Cuong, one of the reasons why people are still concerned is due to confusion between the two concepts of "verifying subscriber information" and "confirming the subscriber's owner". "Verifying subscriber information has been implemented for a long time. When registering a new subscription, people provide personal papers and are checked with the National Population Database to ensure accurate information" - Mr. Cuong said.
This is considered a step to clean up data from telecommunications businesses and management agencies. Subscribers with inconsistent information will be required to update and standardize.
However, according to a representative of the Telecommunications Authority, the previous stage only stopped at ensuring "correct paperwork", not fully reflecting who is the actual user. Meanwhile, confirming the owner on VNeID allows people to proactively check all phone numbers in their name on all networks, thereby confirming or refusing if they are no longer used.
Regarding subscriber authentication, network operators said that the implementation is carried out according to a roadmap, not applied simultaneously to all users, so people do not need to worry too much. Subscribers who have sufficient information or have been confirmed before can still use it normally. In cases where they receive notifications, users should proactively carry out authentication to avoid being temporarily suspended from one-way service after the prescribed time. Network operators recommend that people be wary of strange messages and links requesting information updates, do not provide OTP codes or personal data to avoid the risk of being scammed.
