BSNL faces major app issue, halts new and duplicate SIM issuance | What customers must know

Pathanamthitta, Kerala: BSNL has been unable to provide any SIM card–related services to customers for the past four days. The state-run telecom operator cannot issue new SIM cards or duplicate SIM cards, effectively stopping all customer onboarding since December 1.

The disruption began after the private company that developed and maintained the mobile application used for SIM-related processes abruptly discontinued its services.

Customers have been turning up in large numbers at BSNL exchanges and service centres to lodge complaints. Those seeking duplicate SIM cards, after losing their phones or dealing with malfunctioning SIMs, have been hit the hardest. Staff members are trying to calm frustrated customers, saying the app used to issue SIM cards is down and that the outage is affecting BSNL operations nationwide.

Sanchaar Aadhaar app goes offline

The mobile app used by employees to collect customer details and issue SIM cards is called Sanchaar Aadhaar. It was developed six years ago by a private firm named Intense. The contract with the company had been renewed annually, with BSNL paying the firm a monthly fee.

However, BSNL reportedly failed to make payments over the past four months, resulting in arrears running into lakhs of rupees. The contract expired on November 30, and the company shut down the app’s services at midnight.

BSNL claims its IT division is currently developing an in-house application that will be launched soon. The development work is being carried out under the Kerala Circle.

BSNL data also under company’s control

Data collected through the Sanchaar Aadhaar app is transferred to BSNL’s SIM inventory management application Sancharsoft. But before reaching the BSNL portal, all customer information also passes through Intense’s systems, meaning the private company has access to BSNL’s data as well.