The Department of Telecommunications on Wednesday issued an Office Memorandum notifying a framework for transferring ownership of machine-to-machine (M2M) SIMs between M2M service providers or licensees.

The new framework aims to prevent disruptions in Internet of Things services during ownership changes, an official statement said.

Currently, there is no provision for change in the name of the owner of M2M SIMs under the prevailing guidelines.

The new framework establishes a formal procedure for M2M SIM ownership transfer to ensure a smooth, compliant transition which is applicable to all M2M Service Providers (M2MSPs) or Licensees, the Ministry of Communications said.

An M2M service user or third party must submit a formal written transfer request to the current M2M service provider or licensee, detailing the specific SIMs and the intended transferee. The transferor must provide a No Objection Certificate to the concerned access service provider within 15 days of the request, provided the user has no outstanding dues.

The transferee must submit a formal undertaking to accept all responsibilities, liabilities, and duties, including compliance with KYC and related guidelines, for the transferred M2M SIMs.

Access service providers should scrutinise the request of transfer raised by the M2M service user, followed by verification of NOC from the transferor and the undertaking from the transferee, the statement said.

Upon successful verification, the ASP(s) must carry out KYC again and update subscriber records to reflect the new ownership, the ministry said.

The guidelines mandated that each M2M SIM must at all times remain mapped to an M2M SP or licensee, and there shall be no discontinuation of M2M service to the user.

The framework highlights the government's sustained efforts to safeguard end-user interests while supporting the operational flexibility of service providers, ensuring that India’s M2M and IoT services remain reliable and future-ready, the statement noted.