Last month, the Indian government said it might ban some BlackBerry messaging services as they could be used for terrorism or other illegal activities. The Indian government has delayed any decision while it is in talks with Research In Motion, maker of the BlackBerry, over access to data.

Telecom operators in China, including China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom, said they would follow the new rules.

A newsstand owner in Beijing surnamed Liu, who sells about 20 phone cards a day, believed that the new rules would have an impact on her business. "I am not sure about the effects of the policy, but I think it will definitely hurt business," she said.

But the sheer number of unidentified subscribers means it will be difficult to get them to submit their identity.

Ulrich Mller, a German living in Beijing, said he bought his phone card at a China Mobile service center. "It's normal in Germany to provide your ID card when you buy the mobile phone card. It has been strictly implemented for a long time, and it's generally accepted among the public," he said.

Linda van der Horst, a student at Peking University, said that in Holland, people did not have to present ID when buying a prepaid card. But for a subscription card, users had to provide ID information and a bank account statement.

"It (China's policy) is good, but maybe a little difficult to implement," she said.

It was reported that China Unicom might introduce a monthly fee deduction to existing subscribers in exchange for them registering with ID but the company declined to confirm that, saying they were waiting for detailed rules from MIIT.

The government planned to carry out nationwide registration as early as 2006, but it did not materialize because telecom operators and users showed little enthusiasm.

"It will take a long time ... for the operators to carry out the new policy," said Chen from the China Academy of Telecommunication Research.