Government of Pakistan has devised new regulations for the appointment of Chairman and members of Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, we have confirmed with sources. An SRO was issued in this regard, according to which new regulations are in place now for the appointment of Chairman of PTA and the members of the body. Recent job advertisements of PTA members were published under the same new regulations. [...]

2012 remained bumpy for Telecom Sector, especially for the cellular mobile sector. Price war, lowering ARPUs, devaluating currency, energy crisis and tough economic situations persisted throughout year to give the industry a tough time. Saturating market, cellular suspensions, hard and at times vicious regulatory decisions worsened the year for telecom service providers. In such situations, here are our predictions for 2013 for Telecom and Broadband [...]

اسے اردو میں پڑھیے Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has finally issued the notification for withdrawal of its November 13th, 2012 directive, explaining new rules for sale of new SIMs and lifting ban on MNP. Letter issued to all cellular companies of Pakistan (also produced below) said that new SIM sales is allowed through company owned service centres and franchises only. PTA said that all these sales [...]

اسے اردو میں پڑھیے Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has still not notified mobile cellular operators about withdrawal of its earlier directive, according to which mobile phone companies were asked to not to sell SIMs on franchises, service centres and at retail shops from December 1st, 2012. PTA’s directives, which were reversed by Raja Parvez Ashraf, Prime Minister of Pakistan, are still in place and mobile phone [...]

اسے اردو میں پڑھیے Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has issued a letter to all LDI operators telling them to consider its earlier directive, dated September 25th, 2012, for formation of ICH as null and void. PTA’s letter, produced below, directs Long Distance and International operators to treat authority’s earlier letter – that ordered LDI operators to withdraw their Intentional Interconnection Circuits – as withdrawn. Here is [...]

اسے اردو میں پڑھیے First time In the history of Pakistani Telecom Industry, mobile phone operators are not selling any new SIMs, re-issuing SIMs or porting customers through Mobile Number Portability today. 789 service is down as well. Mobile phone operators told ProPakistani, just minutes ago, that they are waiting for notification from Pakistan Telecommunication Authority to nullify its earlier directive, according to which mobile [...]

اسے اردو میں پڑھیے Raja Pervez Ashraf, Prime Minister of Pakistan, has disapproved Pakistan Telecommunication Authority’s November 13th directive, in which mobile operators were asked to not to sell new mobile connections at franchises, service centres or retailers; instead SIMs were to be dispatched to subscribers’ home addresses given on their CNICs. Sources tell us that Prime Minister made this announcement after meeting the CEOs [...]

Illegal SIMs or unregistered SIMs are truly a menace and must be dealt vigorously. While I am not challenging the intents and spirit of Pakistani government for curbing illegal and unregistered SIMs from our country, but I can safely tell you that the path they have adopted is not going to help them at all. I am claiming this based on facts and proven track [...]

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has just issued a directive to all cellular companies, telling them to impose a permanent halt on Mobile Number Portability (MNP) services. Directive from PTA, a copy of which is produced below, says that on direction of Ministry of Interior a ban has been imposed on MNP, effective immediately. MNP services will remain banned till further notice, the directive said, Reportedly, the [...]

Elections are nearing while political parties are already on their toes to plan their election campaigns with all the power and resources they have got. This time, social media and telecommunication services will be best used (or maybe mis-used, or even ab-used) by political parties for their short-term election gain. This is evident from the fact that social media and telecommunication services have flourished a [...]

Following the orders of Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudry, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP), Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has introduced a significant change in “Subscriber Antecedents Verification Regulation 2010” by allowing maximum of 5 SIMs against one CNIC of any operator. Earlier Chief Justice of Pakistan had ordered to make arrangements necessary to make sure that only one SIM could be issued against a single CNIC. Before [...]

PTA, after issuing a show cause notice and hearing PTCL’s viewpoint, has directed the company to make necessary arrangements for meeting the requirements for new WLL sales as mentioned in the PTA’s standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Wireless Local Loop Subscribers’, which require Documentation and Activation of Connections after Verification from NADRA. PTA further directed PTCL to disconnect all numbers issued in excess in contravention [...]

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has directed all telecom operators to immediately stop all prize schemes, even if they are legitimate, or operators will have to face legal action from PTA in accordance with law. A letter from PTA to all telecom service providers dated May 28th, 2012, made available to ProPakistani, read that authority regularly receives complaints from customers regarding the Inami schemes that various telecom [...]

As we reported yesterday, a judgment has been issued by Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudry, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP), to Pakistan Telecommunication Authority(PTA) to bring an immediate halt to illegal sale of mobile phone SIMs in Balochistan. Judgment was issued by a three-judge bench hearing a petition on the law and order situation and human rights violations in Balochistan at Quetta Registry of the apex court. [...]

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority is up for an upgrade in the regulation concerning SPAM and unwanted call/SMS communication that authority had regulated back in 2009. With this revised regulation draft called: “Protection from SPAM, Unsolicited, Fraudulent and Obnoxious Communication Regulation 2012” authority has asked the stakeholders for their input before it is made a policy. As per draft, protection from SPAM communication regulation says that all [...]