Pakistan said to ban MNP, retail SIM sales

Dylan Bushell-Embling
16 Nov 2012
00:00

The Pakistani telecom sector has been dealt a series of surprise blows this week, with regulators reportedly permanently banning mobile number portability, and soon the direct sale of SIMs through retail channels.

Regulator PTA has directed all the nation's mobile operators to cease providing MNP immediately, an industry source toldThe Express Tribune.

The directive was reportedly imposed for reasons of national security, following reports number porting is making it difficult to trace mobile phone using terrorists.

The Pakistani government itself introduced MNP in 2007 to benefit mobile phone users, but appears to have soured on the facility.

The PTA is also said to have directed operators to stop selling SIMs from sales channels including retail outlets, franchises and service centers from December 1.

Cellcos have instead been told to mail SIMs to the address stored on consumers' CNICs (Computerized National Identity Cards). This is likely an attempt to crack down on mobile subscribers' use of SIMs without having a correct address on file.

But operators fear that the change, if implemented, could have a devastating affect on their retail sales networks.

The PTA's directive comes in the wake of its imposition of a series of costly mobile service suspensions, also in the name of national security.

In response to fears of terrorist activity, operators were ordered to suspend services during the religious holidays of Eidul Fitr and Eidul Azha, as well as the Yaum-e-Ishqe Rasool holiday that had been especially declared in the wake of protests over internet film the Innocence of Muslims.

According to the Tribune, the first two outages alone cost mobile operators an estimated 3.2 billion rupees ($33.4 million).

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