All unregistered SIMs will be blocked by May 17 as the SIM data correction process goes into its final stage, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority Chairman Dr Muhammad Yaseen said on Wednesday.
Speaking at the Connect ICT Forum 2011 being held at the Karachi Expo Centre, Yaseen said that mobile operators were getting around 0.4 million hits daily from the “668” SIM verification service. Users have to send their CNIC number to 668 in order to get a reply with a list of all the SIMs registered on their names.
“This process will not affect revenues of telecom operators,” he said, explaining that they were just fixing errors in a system.
The sixth Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Exhibition called Connect 2011 kicked off on Tuesday to provide the industry with an interactive platform with networking opportunities.
The head of the telecom watchdog said that final meeting with the State Bank of Pakistan on mobile banking was scheduled for May 11. “I hope we will come out with a consensus and issue regulations for mobile banking.”
Regarding Third Generation (3G) technology, Yaseen said that PTA was waiting for policy directives from the government, adding that PTA would hold 3G auctions within three months of being given the go-ahead.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 5th, 2011.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ