PTA (Pakistan Telecommunication Authority) officials have begun preparing how to verify the roughly 50 million yet-to-be verified SIMs before 13th of April 2015. Online has reported
But the question on how to complete the gigantic task of getting tens of thousands of SIMs registered remains unresolved, as some government officials had already hinted the verification target is unlikely to be met within the deadline. The new deadline is April 13, and PTA now appears determined to complete the task
Government of Pakistan had planned to collect mobile phone SIMs data and mobile phone companies vowed to cooperate.
However, the process of SIM verification turned to be a challenging task, due to several reasons that PTA, mobile companies and the government officials are aware of. I think lack of awareness, being the biggest hurdle in the process, has kept the authorities from verifying SIMs that still number in millions.
The initiative should have been started long ago, but the government is trying hard to complete the task with the support of PTA and private mobile companies whose dwindling revenues are a big issue. If truth be told, tens of thousands of unregistered SIMs are still a source of revenue and mobile companies find it hard to clamp down on these unverified users because they fear huge drops in sales that could make things worse.
