Mobile operators have biometrically verified and re-registered about 35.06 percent of their total active SIMs in the first three months since the scheme was launched in December last year.

Bangladesh's six mobile operators have 13.11 crore active SIMs as of February and they verified 4.6 crore connections till March 20.

Some 80.41 lakh users failed the process due to fingerprint mismatch during verification, officials of the telecom division said.

State Minister for Telecom Tarana Halim yesterday said she is more or less satisfied with the progress in the SIM verification process.

The state minister also re-registered two of her SIMs at customer care centres in the capital, and talked to other customers.

“The main purpose of the process is to heighten security of people, and I request all mobile phone users to come and re-register their SIMs,” she said.

She reiterated that it is technically impossible to store fingerprints scanned under the verification system. “People should willingly come and get their SIMs verified.”

All mobile operators together have so far attempted verifications 5.4 crore times, of which 85.17 percent cases were successful.

The operators must complete verifications by April 30, and any unregistered SIMs after the date will be blocked.

The unregistered SIMs will initially be blocked for a few hours, to notify the users and make them re-register, but the connections will be blocked permanently in case of continued unregistered use, Tarana said.

Market leader Grameenphone is ahead of all, having completed verification for 45.36 percent of its total active SIMs.

As of February, Grameenphone has 5.61 crore active SIMs, 2.55 crore of which have been re-registered, while some 59.12 lakh failed the verification process.

The company has seen a decline in the rush of clients seeking re-registrations, said BM Zahidur Rahman, manager for regional sales distribution and retail sales at Grameenphone, and also in-charge of the company's customer care centre in the capital's Farmgate.

The centre is currently doing an average of 500 re-registrations a day, about half the usual number a few days ago, he said. 

In the first week of March, a lawyer challenged the legality of the biometric registration process.

Tarana said they will present the facts and figures before the High Court. “The propaganda against the process will not be successful.”

Banglalink, the second largest operator in terms of subscribers, has also completed checking 43.47 percent of their total 3.2 crore active SIMs, of which 1.39 crore were re-registered successfully, and some 8.94 lakh users could not be verified with the national ID database.

State-owned Teletalk completed verification of 42.92 percent of its SIMs, with 18.28 lakh successful verifications, and 2.5 lakh unsuccessful cases.

Robi checked 16.61 percent of its SIMs as of March 20. The third largest operator verified 45.77 lakh SIMs, while 8.93 lakh of its users could not be verified. 

Airtel, now waiting for a merger with Robi, had 17.55 percent of its SIMs checked. Of the total 1.04 crore active connections, 18.17 lakh were verified, and 3.11 lakh failed the process.

Citycell, the oldest operator, has verified 3.48 percent of its users, re-registering 8.33 lakh SIMs.

Operators have reported negative growth in new connections in the first two months of the year, after the introduction of the mandatory biometric registrations. The sector lost 1.97 percent of its active SIMs, with the number falling to 13.11 crore at the end of February, according to Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission.

About 30 retailers have been dismissed for taking extra charges from customers during re-registrations, Tarana said.

Passports will be enough for verification of foreigners' SIMs, she said.

To make the process faster, she plans to bring all operators' devices under one umbrella, to reduce customer hassle and save time, especially for those using SIMs from multiple operators.