Verified mobile cell phone SIMs sale to commence from 31st January 2009
PESHAWAR: Under instructions from Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) mobile cell phone companies throughout the NWFP would start selling non pre-activated SIMs to customers from January 31.
According to the PTA officials, the step would go a long way to curb the sale of illegal and unauthorized mobile SIMs in the province. The measure is especially important for the terror-stricken province where complaints were reportedly made of some extremists and terrorists using illegal SIMs for their activities, said an official.
To ensure that the mobile connections are being sold to genuine customers with valid documentary proof, the PTA in collaboration with the stakeholders was planning to introduce “Inactive SIMs” in the market, he added.
The activation of the SIMs will take place after verification of subscriber’s antecedents from NADRA. According to the new procedure for the sale of mobile SIMs, the sale outlets that are the franchises, retailers and mobile company customer service centres will sell inactive SIMs, he added.
The official said after the sale has been made, the call centre operator of the mobile company concerned would make a call to the customer and ask a few questions to verify customer particulars. The SIM would be activated after receiving the correct answers.
The issue of unauthorized and illegal SIMs is giving rise to multifarious social problems that emerged due to growing demand for mobile services. In order to meet the demand, Cellular Mobile Telephony Operators (CMTOs) significantly expanded their distribution channels to increase their sales without much focus on verification of subscribers’ antecedents which resulted in increased concerns of law-enforcement agencies.
To address the situation, PTA adopted a series of procedures in consultation with the operators and law-enforcement agencies. The data of mobile subscribers’ antecedents for connection sold up to 30th November 2008 has already been verified through Nadra.
The unverified connections which were found to be issued illegally or without checking the antecedents of the customer have been blocked.The new system is going to provide a roadmap towards “Online Verification System” which would lead to efficient and effective verification procedure. Moreover, once the system is in place the centralized control and responsibility will be with operators.The News