Tight Ownership

Feb 14, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has tightened phone ownership rules by presidential order with mobile and wireless phones to be registered by an April 30 deadline, a media report said. The rules have to be implemented on or before April 30, the newspaper said. The Daily Mirror newspaper said Sri Lanka's court of appeal had dismissed a case that challenged a new registration rules for mobile and CDMA (code division multiple access) based fixed access phones, following a presidential order supporting the rules.

The newspaper said government lawyers had Friday given to court a presidential order made on February 12, and Justices Justices Sathya Hettige and Anil Gunaratne had dismissed the appeal.

An operator could now issue a new SIM (subscriber identity module) or CDMA phone only after receiving proof (via utility bills or similar document) of his full name, current residential address (whether permanent or temporary) and date of birth.

Identity has to be proved with national identity card, driving license or passport, a recent photograph and the identity numbers of person "who will, if ever" share the phone.

If a company or government entity buys the phone, su