(ECNS) — The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is requiring telecommunications companies to implement a full real-name system for all phone users before June 30, 2017 or cut services after the deadline.
An article in People's Posts and Telecommunications News, a newspaper directly under the supervision of the ministry, said telecoms need to increase the proportion of real-name users to at least 95 percent by the end of this year and to 100 percent by the end of next June.
Operators are also urged to employ a range of methods such as text messages, phone calls, letters and notices to demand all phone users complete registration on time.
It's estimated that the current real-name system covers 92 percent of users, with some 100 million yet to provide their real identities.
China initiated the real-name registration system in 2013 as part of a new government measure to reduce anonymity and regulate the market, an effort that intensified in 2015.
By April, over 140,000 telephone numbers offered by more than 20 companies were shut down because they were used in fraud. About 40 percent of those numbers were run by virtual telecom operators, which are blamed for facilitating phone scammers and spammers due to relaxed enforcement of real-name registration.
