Mr. Trairat Wiriyasirikul, Deputy Secretary-General acting as Secretary-General of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), revealed that today (14 May 2026 GMT+7), the NBTC's announcement on retaining prepaid mobile phone numbers takes effect. This protects all prepaid mobile users (except Tourist SIMs) whose usage period expires but still have remaining balance, preventing number deactivation due to forgetting to top up before expiration.
Under this service, mobile operators will automatically renew usage by deducting 3 baht per renewal (excluding VAT), extending the usage period by 30 days each time. Deductions can occur consecutively up to 6 times, totaling 180 days, helping to prevent number cancellation if users forget to top up. Additionally, at least 3 days before expiration, operators will send SMS reminders about the renewal fee deduction and provide information on how to opt out of the number retention fee.
Mr. Trairat said that if the number owner does not wish to use this service, they can notify their mobile operator to opt out of the automatic deduction to renew at least 1 day before the usage expiration. If they want to resume the service later, they can notify the operator through the designated channels.
However, the number retention service will stop, and operators will cease deductions in two cases: when the remaining balance is insufficient for the retention fee, or when the operator has deducted the fee 6 consecutive times without any top-up. In such cases, the operator will terminate the service contract, resulting in number cancellation and recycling for reassignment. If there is still remaining balance in the cancelled number, users may contact the operator for a refund.
This announcement only extends the time before a number is cancelled for a limited period. Users must regularly check their balance and remaining usage days. When usage expires, users need to top up; any top-up amount will add at least 30 days of usage, and usage days can accumulate up to 365 days.
." State Policy " Additional