Senate Standing Committee Hails PTA’s Action But…
The PTA is very active in monitoring the telecom sector in the country. It has time and again warned on to maintain QOS and constantly strives in the policy frame works for the sector’s growth. This is obvious from on going framework drafts for the mobile banking along with State Bank of Pakistan. But as far as the technology upgrade to 3G is concerned, I see the authority delaying it constantly. The operators say that they are waiting for the license auction from PTA and PTA still awaits the the MOITT policy on it. Can the Senate Standing Committee on IT and Telecom along with PTA draw a timeline for the upgrade so that Pakistan too can meet the pace with which the technology is progressing around the world?
The Senate Standing Committee on IT and Telecom has hailed issuance of notices by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to five mobile phone operators on failing to meet the benchmark results of quality of service survey as per the licence terms and conditions.
The committee considered this initiative as beneficial for the mobile phone subscribers in its meeting held here to review the performance of the PTA on protecting telecom consumers rights.
PTA Chairman Dr Muhammed Yaseen briefed the committee on the PTA’s procedures of monitoring the Quality of Service (QoS) of all the telecom services to ensure that the consumers’ rights could be protected.
He informed the committee that the Lirne Asia and other international forums that monitor the regulators’ performance worldwide had rated the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority as one of the best in the region on regulatory measures.
Chairman of the Senate committee Idrees Khan Shafi and other committee members, including Senators Salim Saifullah, Zahid Khan, Maula Baksh Chandio, Faisal Raza Abidi, Farhat Abbasi and Fauzia Fakhar-ur-zaman, hailed the performance of the PTA.
It may be noted that the PTA have recently concluded the QoS survey of all the mobile cellular operators in 14 cities as well as AJK and issued notices to five mobile operators on poor service quality.
Via The News
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Javed, thanks for your detailed comments and concerns. It is important to share these stories.
SYMPATHIES ALWAYS FOR CRIMINALS –
After the departure of Ayub Khan I have never seen any scheme introduced or any law enacted with real honesty and intent for the benefit of the common man and for the nation as a whole. Since 1971-72 whatever has been done I saw it being done in the name of and for the sake of “common man” raising the slogans “Awam kay muffad main” but actually all this was done ensuring that a hidden invisible door forthe vested interests remains open. For example during Miraj Khalid tenure when the people started raising eye brows that while their phones get disconnected even in many cases despite having paid timely, the phones of lucky ones remain alive despite lakhs of Rupees dues years over years. On this the PTCL changed the rule that in future the landlord would pay such dues of the tenant. A tenant as per Lease leaves the flat on 31st August while his August bill comes in the second half of October so how the Landlord could know pre handed on 31st August that tenant was leaving any dues behind. This new law was in fact introduced to keep the door of corruption and vested personal interests of the staff open. Had there been any real honest intent for the Department or the country, the law would had been drafted that a phone which remained alive despite two months consecutive non payment, the concerned PTCL Revenue Officer will pay from his salary. But we are always fooling the nation by always keeping interest of mafias foremost.
2. Recently with much fan fare the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority woke up claiming that no one will be able to get a bogus SIM. In the name of security all unregistered SIMs were blocked. People found many many SIMs registered in their names which they never purchased. In order to hide the truth, the paid commentators and writers attributed this that the photo coping shops used or helped others use the copies for buying a SIM. PTA just to show how serious it was towards the public and the countryy issued a guideline for purchase of SIMs including that when a person buys a SIM on strength of a copy of his CNIC, he must write the bought mobile SIM number on the copy so this copy is not re-used for issuance of another illegal SIM. As our policy makers lack the real honesty the PTA policy makers did not do anything to investigate and punish those inside the mobile companies who issued such illegal SIMs. No doubt the photo copy shops or say for example a genuinely deposited CNIC copy with the PTCL might have been re-used, nevertheless the real fact is that it was the mobile company which actively helped and blessed this illegal issuance of the SIMs by not comparing the copy with original and checking the signature of purchaser with that on the CNIC.
3. However though the new SIM registration system has been devised, as is claimed by PTA, to ensure proper data so that these SIMs do not go in the hands of criminals nevertheless it appears to has been drafted by someone who definitely had real sympathy for the criminals. NADRA claimed that no one can get a fictitious CNIC. In the biggest bank robbery this month in Karachi the main accused was reported to be in possession of an illegal CNIC. I purchased a SIM the other day. Under the new system from my mobile with the new SIM, I dialed the company control who got from me my name, father mother names and CNIN number for verification. NADRA system definitely confirmed the information provided by me as it was genuine and my SIM started working within a few minute. Now I can not take it as guaranteed that the same information will not be re-used for issuance of another SIM of the same or some other mobile company reason being that in the old system these were the same very mobile companies staff who issued illegal SIMs on the strength of photocopies. The same staff can today for same “old considerations” can well activate the new SIMs feeding in the computer my personal information or can provide my personal information to criminals. After all this is the same very mobile companies staff which provide our mobile numbers to credit card sellers or commercial advertisers bombarding us daily through calls/SMSs. A recently published survey tells that the female subscribers immediately on activation start receiving calls from “men” even before they could inform their own family members their new SIM number. These are not just delusions. Just read the column from the learned and senior writer Irfan Siddiqui entitled “Mr. Justice Chief Justice, is this a jungle?” appearing today 23 December 2009 in Daily Jang Karachi. He narrates how a 60 years old widow Homeopath and teacher of Holy Quran and a 70 year retired Professor from Islamabad were whisked away from their homes by the Police 10 days back and are today “missing persons”. They have been taken into custody as per the column because a SIM bought on the strength of a CNIC photocopy of the office driver was found used by some criminal. For majority of us such things are just news for discussion unless one day luck makes us such a news. No one you and me are safe that on the strength of a copy of our CNICs due to active collaboration of the concerned staff a bank or a house building loan is not outstanding against us or a SIM or a phone connection at a PCO is not being used illegally some 1500 miles away in Wazirastan. Under the new procedure the authorities have in fact created a more easy door for the criminals. The only nearest possible solution is that no SIM is issued without filling up an Application Form, scrutiny of the original CNIC and the Form is signed invariably both by the applicant and the sales official with a compulsory column for two thumb impressions of the applicant. The mobile companies under the grab of different techniques pick pocket the subscribers. For this Form and thumb impression it can charge a little extra. But I am sure the concerned policy makers will not agree to such a sensible proposal as it would affect the income of the businessmen, let go to the hell interest of the country and that of the common man. A decade back a fully non sense rule was enacted by the SECP. I am more than confident that no one in today’s civilized world could even think of that such a rule does exist in any part of the world. When I took up the matter with the Federal Ombudsman the SECP immediately agreed to amend it. It sent me a draft version of amendment which again was deliberately but not surprisingly “defective”. I corrected it and sent back to the SECP. For 5 continuous years SECP kept me fooling that the amendment was under process. Seeing this foolish senior citizen was ruthlessly shameless and not tired of, after 5 years the SECP came back to me with the reply that “the businessmen do not agree to the amendment”. Was the interest of a few dozen dishonest businessmen more important or that of millions of shareholders? PTA will have I am sure no room for a word of sense on this account. Our foreign investors can not be annoyed. Let 60 year widow or a 70 year professor go to the hell as missing persons.
[...] This cup of tea was served by: State of Telecom Industry in Pakistan [...]