Jakarta. Indonesia will reimpose a cap on the number of SIM cards registered per user in response to the growing problem of spam calls, Communication and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid announced on Thursday.

Speaking at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta, Meutya said the government is preparing to strictly enforce the existing regulation that limits each citizen to a maximum of three SIM cards per national ID (NIK).

“We’re going to regulate SIM card usage again, so we ask for everyone’s support,” Meutya said.

The move follows a study by US-based voice security firm Hiya, which found that Indonesians received an average of 10 spam calls per month in the first half of 2024 -- significantly higher than neighboring countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand, where the average is below five per month.

To curb abuse, Meutya has instructed telecom operators to update their user databases and ensure compliance with the three-SIM-per-NIK policy.

“The operators must carry out data verification and updates so that each NIK is only tied to a maximum of three SIM cards,” she said.

In addition to the restriction, Meutya encouraged the public to switch to embedded SIM (e-SIM) technology, which offers better security through biometric verification.

“E-SIMs are more secure because they require biometric data to verify that the SIM user matches the rightful NIK holder,” she explained.

Meutya also raised concerns about the disproportionate number of active SIM cards in circulation. Indonesia currently has around 315 million registered SIM cards, despite a total population of only 280 million -- including infants and toddlers.

“What are those excess SIM cards being used for? Maybe some people own several, but this clearly needs further investigation. That’s why we are updating the data and reinstating the SIM card limitation,” Meutya said.