March 5th 2009
Cellphone customers who use pre-paid SIMcards have until November 8 to give their phone operator their personal information, or they will face having their lines cut off, the Interior Ministry said yesterday. Pre-paid phone users will
have to provide data, including their name, address and national ID number, according to legislation passed in 2007 by Congress.
It also requires operators to register every call made from such lines and hold the information on record for a year.
The law was passed to control the use of pre-paid phones in terrorist attacks. ETA has used such cellphones to alert authorities as to where they have placed an explosive device so that the caller cannot be traced.
It is estimated that there are 15 million cellphone users in Spain who do not have contracts.
EL PAÍS, Madrid