Data clean-up: Telcos shut 1.65m unregistered sims

The PTA, on the order of interior ministry, banned selling of SIMs thorugh retailers.

According to propakistani, the recent stats issued by Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) state that as many as 1.65 million users were shut after a crackdown against unregistered SIMs.

The crackdown resulted in a drop in cellular teledensity - the number of cellular connections for every hundred individuals living within an area – decreased from 69.8 percent to 68.8 percent a month ago.

The sudden decrease occurred because the Interior Ministry had directed the PTA to ban selling of SIMs via retail shops and ensure 'data clean-up' which means the data base of users is accurate.

The new regulations mean Telco operators can now only sell their new Sims through authorised service centres only.

The graphs below explains trend of cellular users and the status of telco companies:



This histogram illustrates that Mobilink has the overall largest user base compared to other telecommunication companies.



Telenor had the largest market share whereas Mobilink has more overall subscribers.



Ufone and Telenor were neck and neck in terms of net addition of subscribers in the past year (January-December 2012), but Zong led the line for snapping up twice as many users as any other network.