New Delhi: Telecom operators, including Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea Ltd, have informed the telecom department about their readiness to conduct proof of concept for the new “alternate digital KYC (know-your-customer) process” at two locations, as stipulated.
The Department of Telecom (DoT) has also issued the details of the procedure and modalities to be followed by telecom operators for issuing new mobile connections using the alternate digital KYC process.
According to a DoT circular dated 6 November, Bharti Airtel has ensured “readiness to conduct PoC (proof of concept)” in Delhi and Meerut, while Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) has identified two locations in Telangana for the same.
Reliance Jio Infocomm has ensured its readiness to conduct PoC at two locations in Navi Mumbai, while Vodafone Idea Ltd has listed Delhi and Baramati in Pune District, according to the DoT. Other operators like Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) and Tata Teleservices have also identified locations for the POC. As per the alternate digital KYC process proposed by the telecom industry for issuing new mobile connections, the customer acquisition form is to be embedded with live photograph of subscriber along with original proof of identification (PoI) and proof of address (PoA) document—digitizing the end-to-end process for on-boarding of new mobile subscribers.
DoT said only two mobile connections will be provided per day per PoI, PoA document to a customer by the operator using the alternate digital KYC process.
It said that additional safeguards in the prevailing guidelines regarding outstation and foreign customers will also be followed in the new alternate digital KYC process. The Supreme Court (SC) in September restricted the use of Aadhaar authentication by private entities in the absence of a legal provision.