 "At the press conference (Photo: SGGP)")
The Ministry of Science and Technology held its regular press conference on June 1 under the chairmanship of Deputy Minister Bui Hoang Phuong.
Speaking at the press conference, Deputy Director of the Department of Telecommunications Nguyen Anh Cuong said that more than 103 million mobile subscriptions have been integrated into the VNeID system so far. Of these, approximately 1.6 million phone numbers have been confirmed by users as no longer being in use.
Telecommunications service providers have been notifying mobile subscribers to re-sign service contracts in accordance with regulations and complete facial biometric verification for subscriber authentication. They have also been suspending outgoing services for subscribers who fail to comply with the provisions of Circular No. 08/2026/TT-BKHCN. Currently, more than 25 million mobile subscriptions remain unconfirmed by users as registered under their rightful ownership on the VNeID platform.
According to Mr. Nguyen Anh Cuong, the biggest challenge at present is that over 25 million subscriptions remain unverified by users despite having been integrated into the VNeID system. Under Circular No. 08, subscribers who fail to complete the ownership verification process by June 15 will have their outgoing services temporarily suspended, including voice calls and SMS messages to other subscribers.
Data synchronization is still being actively carried out by the Police Department for Administrative Management of Social Order (C06) under the Ministry of Public Security, in coordination with telecommunications service providers, to review and integrate subscriber information on VNeID. Therefore, some users may not yet see their information fully displayed on the platform at this time. The nationwide review and verification of subscriber ownership status will continue through June 15, so there is currently no definitive figure available, Mr. Nguyen Anh Cuong said.
According to reports from mobile network operators, given the current pace of subscriber verification, millions of SIM cards are expected to be temporarily suspended after June 15 due to users’ failure to confirm lawful ownership through VNeID.
Telecommunications providers, including Viettel and VinaPhone/VNPT, are mobilizing additional personnel and deploying mobile support teams to assist customers with the ownership verification process in accordance with regulations. Particular attention is being given to providing at-home verification services for elderly people and other vulnerable groups to accelerate compliance with the subscriber authentication requirements.
Under the provisions of Circular No. 08, starting June 15, mobile subscribers who change their end-user devices will be required to undergo facial biometric re-verification. The requirement is similar to the authentication procedures applied when users change devices associated with bank accounts or VNeID accounts or switch to an eSIM.
The measure is intended to ensure that each mobile phone number remains linked to its legitimate user. It also helps protect subscribers by reducing risks in cases where a SIM card is lost or misplaced but has not yet been deactivated, thereby preventing fraudsters from exploiting the number for illegal or scam-related activities.
