Telcos that miss the June 30 deadline will be subject to penalties under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998. — Photo by Taylor Grote on Unsplash
Update: Both Celcom and U Mobile have since confirmed that the telcos would also be discontinuing the CLIR offerings following June 30.
PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) requires telecommunications companies in the country to stop offering services that conceal phone numbers in calls and SMS by June 30.
In a notice, it reminded telcos to comply with subsection 3.8.1.12 of the Numbering and Electronic Addressing Plan (NEAP) by ensuring all calls and SMS display the real phone number of the caller or sender unless requested by law enforcement agencies.
This would also include the halting of Calling Line Identification Restriction (CLIR) or "private number" services offered by telcos to customers, as they violate provisions under the NEAP.
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Telcos that continue to violate the provision following the June 30 deadline will be subject to penalties under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.
According to an FAQ page on their respective websites, both Maxis and Digi will comply with the notice by discontinuing their CLIR service on June 30.
Other major telcos including Celcom and U Mobile have not posted an update on their website regarding changes to their CLIR offerings.
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