State of Telecom Industry in Pakistan

Dealing with spam, unwanted calls and stalkers can be very stressful. Here’s some  information and links which can help you cope with this. While looking at this issue, we researched on the privacy policies of mobile companies operating in Pakistan. Out of 5 mobile network operators, we found 2 privacy policies which were posted online.

• www.telenor.com.pk/privacy/privacy.php
• www.waridtel.com/privacy_policy.php

For your reference you can block the user following the guidelines presented in our prior posts about Call and SMS Blocking, here and here. Unfortunately getting rid of the problem is not always that straightforward. For example, see this TGP discussion in which one member’s number was used – spoofed would be a better choice of word – for sending unwanted SMS.

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Apparently the mention of call monitoring regulation caused some concerns. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) had to issue a statement saying that PTA has not formed, nor does it intend to form any regulations to monitor telecom traffic including phones calls, e-mails and text messages. It is all about grey traffic!

Denying news reports detailing PTA’s plans to monitor all telecommunication traffic, a PTA spokesman said monitoring cyber and telecom traffic was never the PTA’s mandate. Hence, the question of curbing freedom of expression does not arise in this particular case, he said. The spokesman said the PTA, in its efforts to curb illegal telecommunication traffic (grey traffic) coming into Pakistan from abroad, had installed state-of-the-art filters.

These filters account for all inbound telecom traffic, ensuring that only authorised means are being used for data transfer, billing verification and assuring the quality of service as required under law. During the past few months, PTA has seized a number of illegal exchanges and apprehended several individuals, including foreigners, involved in illegal telecommunications activities, which were causing billions of rupees in losses to the national exchequer, the spokesman said. These arrests might have fuelled the stories in the media about the monitoring of telecommunication traffic by the PTA, he added.

Monitoring of voice and data traffic has been a controversial issue in Pakistan because of the cost and effort which will be incurred by the service providers (ISPs, mobile network operators etc). Now PTA has released draft regulations regarding REAL-TIME monitoring of telephony services, with the usual threat of license suspension if a service provider does not comply with the regulation. There should be a debate about whether this is the right approach (see this previous post for background) and concerns over privacy should be addressed.

Monitoring System(s) means a system which includes such equipment and/ or accessories to be installed and deployed for the purpose of monitoring traffic links and also differentiating between type of information streams (voice or data), essential for regulating all telecom landing station licensees and services to be provided by the landing station licensee.

Per PTA regulation, each LDI licensee and Access Providers shall establish the System on its own cost in accordance with these regulations as determined and required by the Authority from time to time at the PTA designated premises.

All landing station and infrastructure licensee(s), shall establish a Monitoring System with its interface to the Authority, on its own cost for the purpose of monitoring of telecommunication traffic (voice and data) within one hundred and twenty days of the notification of these regulations.

I have included an extract of the requirements from the PTA regulation below. I think this will be heavily debated over the coming days.

Any Monitoring system or System deployed shall comprise the mandatory feature of monitoring and controlling grey traffic with the minimum of the following features and shall ensure compatibility to provide such information as required by the Authority, where applicable:
(a) Capability to monitor, control, measure and record traffic in real-time;
(b) Capability for complete signaling record, including but not limited for billing;
(c) Capability to accurately measure the quality of service;
(d) A complete list of the Pakistani customers; and
(e) Complete details of capacity leased by the licensee(s) to their customers.

Further details from the regulation after the break.

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Technology Review reports that researchers have been able to hijack mobile phone connections and data.

In a presentation today at Black Hat Europe, a computer-security conference in Amsterdam, a group of researchers claimed to have found a way to hijack the data sent to and from mobile phones. The researchers say that the attack might be used to glean passwords or to inject malicious software onto a device.

Mobile phones are becoming ever more useful for transmitting data in addition to making voice calls, and they’re increasingly being used for sensitive activities such as online banking, as well as for searching the Internet and downloading mobile games.

The new attack relies on a protocol that allows mobile operators to give a device the proper settings for sending data via text message, according to Roberto Gassira, Cristofaro Mune, and Roberto Piccirillo, security researchers for Mobile Security Lab, a consulting firm based in Italy. By faking this type of text message, according to the protocol an attacker can create his own settings for the victim’s device. This would allow him to, for example, reroute data sent from the phone via a server that he controls. The researchers say that the technique should work on any handset that supports the protocol, as long as the attacker knows which network the victim belongs to and the network does not block this kind of message.

This post is about insights about behavior patterns, innovation and value of interaction for solving problems. Professor Alex Pentland, named by Newsweek magazine one of the 100 Americans likely to shape this century, is a pioneer of computational social science and co-director of the Digital Life Program at the MIT Media Lab. He talks about the powerful effect of measuring personal interaction on corporate success, reality mining via cell phone and location data, and designing smart cars.

During conversations about SIM verifications, there has been a consistent demand for a way to find out the phone numbers / SIMs which have been issued against a certain NIC. All the information is in the databases of NADRA and mobile phone companies. It is only a matter of setting up an automated process – with the right security and privacy of course - for consumers.

Now PTA has announced that such a system will be made available in near future. If nothing else, it will keep the text messaging traffic growing.

PTA and mobile industry is also working jointly to introduce a new SMS based system by virtue of which a mobile user can be able to know the number of SIMs working against his/her CNIC by sending a SMS. A similar system is active through which a subscriber sends a blank message to “667” and return message gives antecedents of that particular SIM owner. 

Business Week has a story about the new mobile net and the wave of privacy invasion about to happen. Part of it starts from Facebook going on smart phones and the popularity of location based services will make it worse. Even though many users may not know or care, a lot of information is being collected about you and your behavior. Excerpts from the story below. I think that very soon there will be a backlash against all this invasion of privacy and lawsuits will erupt.

Imagine that your business had a complete log of your customers’ wanderings—every trip to the grocery store, every work commute, every walk with the dog. What could you learn about them? Armed with that knowledge, what sorts of goods and services might you try to sell them? Just as important, if you made your best pitch—relevant and timely, of course—would customers concerned about privacy tell you to get lost? This isn’t science fiction. A nascent industry extending from the laboratories of Google (GOOG) and Nokia (NOK) to a host of data-fueled startups is wrestling with these very questions.

The privacy implications are considerable. Is it O.K. for a boss to hand an employee a Latitude-loaded BlackBerry and then monitor her whereabouts? Companies that operate fleets of trucks have tracked employees for years. But similar technology in cell phones would potentially let all sorts of companies monitor and measure employee movements. Latitude does offer cloaking options. A user can hide from certain people or ask to be located by city, not by street.

Resistance to mobile ads is showing signs of breaking down, at least in some quarters. When surveys ask users if they’re interested in receiving the ads, nearly everyone says no, says Greg Sterling, a senior analyst at Opus Research. But when asked recently whether they would welcome messages only from local businesses they select, 43% say they’d be “very or somewhat interested.” That number, says Sterling, is higher among the data hounds who use the iPhone, BlackBerry, and other high-end phones.

I thought that this was worth mentioning here for two reasons. First, it underscores the importance of privacy, something for which awareness remains low in Pakistan. Secondly, it shows that how regulator of telecommunication services can help with consumer rights protection. There are lessons for our own “telecom authority” which has lately been busy increasing rates for calls to Pakistan and going after VOIP companies.

Federal regulators proposed $20,000 fines on more than 650 small telecommunications providers for not abiding by new rules designed to protect consumer phone records.

Michael Copps, the FCC’s interim chairman said: The broad nature of this enforcement action hopefully will ensure substantial compliance with our (privacy) rules going forward as the Commission continues to make consumer privacy protection a top priority.

About 2 years ago the FCC tightened privacy requirements on phone companies in response to consumer complaints about data brokers selling phone records they’d illegally obtained through “pre-texting,” or getting information under false circumstances..

Guest Post By: Quratulain Kalhoro

Editor’s Note: This is the second post  on the topic of late night calling packages, its impact on the youth of Pakistan and who is responsible for this situation. This post is from Quratulain Kalhoro, who is an MPhil student and teacher at a University in Hyderabad.

Cell phones nowadays have become symbol of independence – for our youth that mobile phone helps them to develop their own language and social groups away from the prying eyes of their parents. It has become Status Symbol or what people say Fashion statement – It is a way that people wear their phone in a style, color, cost and features and feel that a phone can enhance their looks. Although mobile phones have long been a part of the business community, they are quietly becoming entrenched in personal lives. Cell phones play a crucial role in relationships among a group of young people, Mobile phones also influence the trend toward relaxing the traditional amount of contact permitted before marriage. Cell phone is also in the use of people who are working 24/7 environment and always remain on the go.

It is privacy and not mobility that matters. Most youth have cell phone conversations in their bedroom. Lets have a look on few needs of new breed (Youth) that have been forcing them to get addicted to this cell phone night packages, the need to make their identity and to build “social and emotional ties”. The shrinking size of present day families explain why the youth today feel the need to communicate with virtual brothers and sisters.

Youngsters have been using cell phones to form friendships and social groups away from their families, feeling that these phones give them privacy that they would not otherwise have. As cell phone use becomes even more widespread, communication between parents and their kids may become even more impersonal.

The saying “romance is in the air” appears to be true. In today’s world, it is mobile phones which are carrying the messages of love. Youngsters are using mobile phones to maintain personal and romantic relationships.

Grabbing our new generation, these free night packages services provided by our Cellular Companies have become a great pleasure/encouragement to people like who aren’t responsible at all, it seems they are announced to spoil the future of our youth, just give it a thought which kind a people avail these services and what they do? Whole night they spent in useless, ungraceful conversation it’s all beyond morals.

The immature generation has become addicted to avail these kind a packages. These kind portable platform providers are taking away our youth from family/Cultural/Traditional/Religious values, they don’t even care about their health though they know how these RF radiation would be harmful as for as continuous use is concerned.

The Cellular Companies should make some standards so they can provide such services which can be of use to make the youths future bright and should consider the social impact before announcing any such service, they should offer some M-Learning (Mobile Learning) services they are behind the race of announcing free night packages, low rates for one special number.

No doubt most of the parents are equally responsible for this attitude in our new generation, in previous era what kind of environment we have had at homes —-sitting together in TV-Lounges , One time/place to sit and eat together no friends/outings in late night, but this fast life where people are to avail luxurious lifestyle parents themselves arrange separate rooms equipped with individual TV, personal Computer with high speed Internet connection and a latest model of any famous brand of Mobile handset though its of no use to them at around certain age , yup parents are equally responsible they should be responsible they should keep eye on their children’s activities, what kind a friends they are making how they are progressing academically how they are spending time.

The youth is less responsible than their parents is what I think, they are availing what they have in their access and they have no one over them to restrict or make them understand what is good to go for and what is wrong to avail. The generation gap between parents and children’s is not the main issue because its more than the gap, its about basics of raising good children. True that bad habits or friendships existed before this direct and private source of communication too but its all starts right from your basic education that our youth is getting at Home. So the message goes to parents: make your kids to avail good morals and talk to them on every matter to give them better understandings of what is right and what is wrong.

As covered here before, the process to get a new SIM has undergone many changes. The franchises are following the PTA guidelines strictly as well. You need to provide the original NIC and a thumb print to get a SIM. The franchises are connected online (and via their mobile phones) to NADRA systems to verify the NIC. Individuals can send a blank message to 667 to verify their ownership. The response includes the name of the person and the NIC number. If you just purchased a new SIM then the data is not available for a few days and you’ll get a message with Unknown name and 1111 as NIC.

Do you see any security and privacy issues? There is no security mechanism (such as a PIN). Anyone who gets a hold of your phone can get the name and NIC. If you lose your phone then the thief can know your name and NIC number.

“You have zero privacy anyway. Get over it.” Scott McNealy – Former CEO Of SUN.

Perhaps McNealy had Pakistan in mind when he uttered his famous words about the lack of privacy and how to deal with it. Most of us are well aware of the lax privacy situation in Pakistan. Even with the lower expectations, the news of Police getting easy access to personal phone records was still a shock to may. The official announcement has not been made yet and preparations are under way to facilitate this. The core of the problem is lack of transparency, safeguards and trust. If you look at the public reaction, there is wide agreement on a single point: given the track record of police department, this access will be exploited and abused.

For the small percentage of population who understand the meaning of privacy and the implications of blatant intrusion, it is a matter of great concern. Admittedly, privacy is not a high priority item for Pakistan. Once in a while something happens like cell phone customer information at bread shops, a few people complain, perhaps a few bloggers and journalists write about it and that’s it. We even had experts from other countries come over and explain to us about the need for protecting privacy and sensitive information. The government and regulation agencies shrug it off – after all they can point to the law and order situation. Oh well, consider this one more cost of living in the information age.

After all the privacy conferences, this is the ground reality. Reported by Irfan Ahmad at See n Report who exposed this pathetic privacy situation. The combination of concerned citizens and platforms like See n Report add value and credibility to online news. This is the kind of citizen journalism which we need.

This Naan shop is offering you private data of hundreds of a cellular company customers for free. All you have to do is to buy a few naans from here and you will get private data for FREE.

This is the back end of “har dil ki dhun hai”, “karooron khushion ki rahguzr”. This is how they care about your private information.