Taipei, May 5 (CNA) Foreign residents will soon be allowed to use their Alien Resident Certificates (ARCs) as an accepted form of ID to subscribe to mobile phone services in Taiwan, the National Communications Commission (NCC) said Wednesday.



The NCC said that with effect from July, there will be a change in the regulations regarding the two pieces of ID required by telecom companies to provide subscription services to foreign nationals.



Currently, the passport is the primary ID and a driver's licenses or National Health Insurance Card is the secondary ID for foreign nationals seeking such services, the NCC noted.



The foreign business community, however, has complained many times about the regulation, saying it is inconvenient and causes difficulties for some foreign nationals, especially those newly arrived in Taiwan, according to the NCC.



In response, the NCC said, revisions have been made to the Regulations for Administration of Mobile Communications Businesses, Regulations for Administration of the Third Generation Mobile Communications Business, and Regulations for Administration of Mobile Broadband Businesses, and the changes were approved Wednesday.



The new regulations will take effect in two months' time, allowing foreign nationals to present their ARCs as the secondary ID when applying for subscriptions to telecommunications services, the NCC said.



(By Wu Wan-ting and Y.F. Low)

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