On the evening of July 31, China Telecom, China Mobile, and China Unicom issued a “Announcement on Regulating Card Sales Through Internet Channels”. They announced that starting from August 1, 2026, mobile phone card sales will be restricted to official channels only, and related services through third-party internet channels will be completely discontinued.
China Mobile stated in its announcement that it has recently discovered some individuals using China Mobile's name to induce customers to purchase SIM cards through various internet platforms. These individuals also illegally collect and retain customers' personal information, posing risks of false advertising and information leakage. To effectively protect customers' personal information, our company will adjust and upgrade the SIM card services available through the internet channels.
Starting from August 1, 2026, users who wish to purchase China Mobile SIM cards through the internet must do so only through the China Mobile APP or the official China Mobile website. Apart from these official channels, China Mobile will no longer provide SIM card-related services through third-party internet platforms. SIM card services that have been purchased previously can continue to be used normally.
Screenshot from China Mobile's official website
The so-called online proxy channel for selling SIM cards refers to the way in which operators sell mobile SIM cards through third-party sales agents, self-owned stores on internet platforms, and various vertical traffic partnerships—all non-proprietary online channels. The large-capacity SIM cards with attractive pricing that consumers see on e-commerce platforms and live streaming sessions mostly come from this channel. Once this channel is completely shut down, consumers who are accustomed to comparing prices, choosing models, and processing cards online will be affected.
In terms of price, buying cards through non-official channels is usually more cost-effective. However, there are certain risks associated with purchasing cards through non-official channels. The Black Cat Complaint Platform shows that searching for complaints related to “phone cards” yielded a total of 55,701 complaints. Among these complaints, there are issues such as “phone cards purchased in live broadcasts at 19.9 yuan, but after recharging 200 yuan, they still cannot be used,” “phone cards were purchased through e-commerce platforms, and now they cannot be used normally; contacting customer service resulted in no solution,” and “the phone cards do not match what was stated by the customer service.”
