On April 7th, the topic of "cancelling phone numbers equals selling oneself" has sparked heated discussion among netizens, with many expressing concerns about changing or cancelling their phone numbers.
How long will cancelled phone numbers be reissued into the market?
According to media reports, after a China Mobile number is cancelled, there is a 90-day "cooling-off period" during which customers can still retrieve and continue using their own numbers. After the 90-day "cooling-off period," the numbers will be re-entered into the number pool for subsequent marketing use.
This process is commonly known as "secondary number release," and the numbers reissued are often referred to as "secondary numbers." The term "secondary number release" refers to the practice where mobile numbers, once discontinued or abandoned by the original users, are reclaimed by the carriers. These numbers are then left idle for a period before being reintroduced to the market for new customers to choose from. An official spokesperson for China Mobile stated that, under the guidance of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, they will continue to expand the coverage of the "secondary number" unbundling service to include a wider range of applications, striving to comprehensively cover various sectors such as life, social interaction, finance, and work.
It's been reported that "secondary issuance" is a necessary means to effectively activate idle communication resources, similar to the recycling of IP addresses, and it's a common practice internationally.
With a vast number of users, phone numbers in China, like network IP addresses, are primarily 11 digits long. With the surge in users, some number segments have exhausted new numbers, which is a significant reason why telecom operators need to reclaim and reissue numbers.
How can users find out how many internet accounts are associated with their phone numbers? And what should they do if they discover someone else has registered an internet account with their phone number?
Users can utilize the "One ID Inquiry 2.0" service launched by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology for such inquiries. Currently, "One ID Inquiry" can check a total of 16 software applications, including some of the most widely used mainstream apps on the market, but its coverage is still insufficient.
