The majority of people who read mobile phone news websites such as this one are people who have their own traditional cell phones. These are mobile phone handsets that are issued by a carrier and typically come with a contract. You receive a bill each month and your carrier could track you down if you failed to pay your bill. But not all people have this type of mobile phone. There are still a lot of people in the world who use pre-paid mobile phones instead of traditional mobile phones. In fact, one statistic indicates that in 2007 over two thirds of the world’s mobile phones were pre-paid phones. In some parts of the world, these people are required to register when they purchase a pre-paid mobile phone. It’s a practice which is highly controversial.

Why Someone May Get a Pre-Paid Mobile Phone?

For those of us who have a traditional mobile phone, the idea of getting a pre-paid mobile phone may seem a little bit odd. These phones typically end up costing more for people who regularly use their cell phones. These phones are also highly limited in their functions as compared to more advanced smartphones. So why would someone opt to get a pre-paid mobile phone. Here’s a look at some of the reasons cited by people who choose pre-paid mobile phones:

• Lack of a cell phone contract. A lot of people do not want to be locked into a cell phone contract. The pre-paid mobile phone is one solution to that.
• Credit problems. People with really poor credit histories may find it difficult to qualify for traditional phone contracts in certain countries.
• Paying in advance reduces billing problems. Some people simply can’t keep track of their finances well enough to pay ongoing cell phone bills on time. The pre-paid phone lets them pay for minutes when they have the money and eliminates ongoing bills.
• Emergency-only phones. People who almost never use their mobile phones but who want one in case of an emergency will find that it costs a lot less for them to get a pre-paid phone than to get a traditional mobile phone.
• Limitations of certain countries. In some countries, it is a lot easier to get access to a pre-paid mobile phone than to find a traditional mobile phone carrier who can provide service.
• Anonymity / privacy. There are some people who really don’t like the idea that their whereabouts and actions can be tracked through their mobile phones. They prefer the privacy or anonymity of using a pre-paid cell phone.

This latter reason has been a cause for some concern by some government agencies.

Anonymous Pre-Paid Calling and Crime

There have been a lot of concerns around the world about the problem of anonymity when it comes to using pre-paid mobile phones. Basically, these phones are difficult (or impossible) to track. This means that they’re a better option for people to use when they need a mobile phone to assist them in committing a crime. One example of this is the kidnapper who uses a prepaid mobile phone to make a ransom call; the phone may not be possible to track whereas GPS in a traditional phone would help police to find the kidnappers. A more serious threat is the use of pre-paid mobile phones by terrorists who may use them for a variety of illegal activities including setting off bombs in public places. Other crimes that are commonly associated with the use of pre-paid mobile phones include blackmailing, drug dealing and the smuggling of illegal immigrants across borders.

Registration of Pre-Paid Mobile Phones

As a result of the aforementioned concerns about criminal activity, many governments are starting to require registration of pre-paid mobile phones. This assists the government in tracking the identity of criminals through the phone. This has caused a lot of controversy in many countries. That’s because there are many people who believe that this type of registration is a violation of their privacy. They say that they should be allowed to purchase and use a phone for personal use without that use being tracked by the government. Although the controversy rages on, there are quite a few countries which are beginning to require this type of registration. According to one 2006 report on the topic of registering pre-paid mobile phones, there were 9 OECD member countries out of 24 at that time which required some type of registration. Those countries were Australia, France, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Norway, Slovak Republic, South Africa and Switzerland. The report cited four key reasons that these countries were requiring this registration and suggested these reasons as benefits to requiring registration for all pre-paid mobile phones. Those four reasons were:

1. Purposes of national security and law enforcement. The main reason cited for requiring pre-paid mobile phone registration is to fight crime.
2. Improved emergency response. Registration of pre-paid mobile phones may make it easier for emergency responders to reach people with those phones in their times of need.
3. Special registration for certain services. Some countries simply require pre-paid mobile phone registration for users seeking to use phones for certain services such as adult content calls. This helps to reduce problems associated with those special use phones.
4. General registration of phones. Some countries simply don’t distinguish between landlines, traditional mobile phones and pre-paid mobile phones in terms of phone registration requirements.

Some of these countries, as well as other countries not on this list have taken additional action in recent months to increase required registration of pre-paid mobile phones. For example, Greece may now require that pre-paid phones can not be activated until the user registers the mobile phone and attaches it to their identity. Additionally, Mexico is establishing a national mobile phone directory that includes all pre-paid mobile phones and which requires that fingerprints be included in the identifying information of such phone users.

Pre-Paid Mobile Phone Registration May Become the Norm

As these countries tighten up their regulations, more and more countries may see fit to pass similar laws requiring registration of all pre-paid mobile phones by their users. Privacy concerns still make this practice controversial in many countries. Nevertheless, many laws have been made which place national security concerns over privacy concerns and this could be another instance of that happening.