Blocking Of Unregistered SIMs
Do you know if your SIM is really registered in your name? What happens if your SIM is not registered at all? Till recently it was not a big deal but now your SIM may be blocked. PTA has been making announcements about SIM data verification for a while (see this story). PTA has also sent tough signals by raiding and closing some franchises which did not follow the guidelines for registration. But this time the burden is directly on consumers: no matter who sold you the SIM, if it is not registered properly then it is subject to service blocking. See the warning notice from PTA.
As one can imagine this is a major problem for consumers. According to some estimates 7 million SIMs could be impacted. Some blocking has already started though I am not sure of the total number (1.4 million according to a source). It is a subject of debate on who is responsible for this mess but for sure consumers have to suffer and pay the price. This is what happens when government policies are not implemented consistently.
According to this post from MobilePakistan, subscribers can send a blank sms to 667 to get information about the registration status of their SIM. In case there’s an issue “you have to take the SIM along with a photostat copy of your National Identity Card to your mobile phone company’s Authorised Office and get the SIM ownership transferred in your name.”
Local media has given July 1st as the new effective date of this blocking. I think more time should be given to the public to clean up the mess created by the govt agencies. And there should be better communication and tools to help the consumers. There should be an online tool to tell you if the SIM is unregistered or not. This can help the expat Pakistanis who often buy a SIM when they are visiting home and then go back abroad.
After all is said and done this could help (to some extent) with a few things such as pranks, hackers and other abuse. At least people will realize that there are some rules to be followed - even in today’s Pakistan.
TelecomPk.Net is a leading source of information and analysis about Pakistan Telecom industry.
Hy,
It is regreted to state that this step was required to be taken far earlier when cell phone and sims system was started. Again I am sorry to say that all the agencies and PTA was ware of this problem , no lame excuse is acceptable, they should it stopped is very earlier.Once millions of unauthorised sims are in circulation , they should be blocked A.S.A.P. For obtaining of new SIMS strict control and command system should be implemented immediately. This will help unauthorised sims and misusage as well.
regards
M.Ashraf
Companies like Mobilink have created a lot of effort at their end to maximise the understanding of the GSM technology and bringing in variety-consumer packages into the market. Mobilink at the same time also destroyed the market by distributing chips without procedure just to add together the highest consumer figures. Because of these superfluous marketing and sales activities their earnings have sunk to some decent percentage as compared to last./ They’re near a downfall in the market if they don’t straighten up failure curve and get with the program on some key fronts.
Cheer up Mobilink. The worst is yet to come.
Dude; have you gone through the newspapers??? Ufone leads in unregistered SIMS not Mobilink. DAWN, Nation, Post; these and may more carry the news.
Okay so you get newspapers, so you can brag about it. I never said Mobilink is leading here, I said Mobilink planted the seed for this practice into the market.
Yes, Mobilink planted this seed. I endorse above comment. I can bet that Mobilink actives SIM’s by inserting cards of Rs100/- just to reflect this Big subscriber base for PTA calculations. Their sales directors and team are basically moved from PAKTEL ( Old company…not ZONG) and now killing Mobilink by same stupid strategy. Before 2004/05, Mobilink was playing very fairly but after that they started Pig game. On other hand, Telenor is playing fairly and increasing Pace of selling connections day by day…They give minimum time on each card as compared to other companies validity time…but subscriber base is increasing… reason is only one GOOD SERVICE.
Mobilink was leader in Pakistan but after Telenor came…Mobilink become follower of Telenor…because there is no internal justice in employees.. Old Mobilink employees were kicked out by new entrants…PAKTEL teams… How company can grow if there is unrest inside company? That old team was moved to Telenor and today you can see Telenor… It called Employee Brains are must for Companies growth.
Thank you Saleem. You have provided a good insight! A major restructuring should take place in their Marketing and Sales departments to cater to their future growth problems. The grouping should break by rotating their tasks immediately to avoid any further market share loss.
Problem is not with Telecom..its problem with innocent customers who bought these numbers from Franchises on this promise that Franchise will upload their ID data but not did it because their whole team remains busy in adding Rs100/- card in every unsold Prepaid connection so it can shown as ACTIVE subscriber on IN…and Director can get incentive from Company.
Today all numbers are deactivated..not blocked. Who will listen to poor customers and who is responsible to activate them again and return them back their last balance on SIM. A big mess is going on in telecom sector for the sake of Numbers. Just see, 52% of Pakistani population have Mobiles (as per PTA figures)… Is it real? I can say that only 27~28 % will be maximum real users of Mobiles in present time. 52% means that each Pakistani is using only one SIM…but actually every body have 5 SIMs in pocket :)
Dear Sir,
Sir meri SIM (two) bar block ho ghai hai.main boht preshan hoon.janab se guzarish hai keh aap meri sim khulwadain.boht mehrbani hogi.
My Mobile No are as under:-
0308-3108616