MULTAN,Nov 14th: Chairman of Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Dr. Muhammad Yasin claimed ,"we have successfully verified data and around 10 million illegal SIMs were blocked while another 2.9 million SIMS were blocked in the second phase. Talkingh to newsmen here on saturday PTA Chairman said that as many as 1.5 million SIMs have so far been removed from the names of mobile subscribers while around 1,34,000 irregular SIMs have been regularised after the correction of relevant data. He further said that PTA has blocked more than 85,000 irregular SIMs since the launch of SIM Information System 668.A total of 1.5 million mobile subscribers have sought their SIMs information from PTA out of which 10 million subscribers sought this information through SMS while 3.2 million subscribers visited PTA’s web-link of this service. PTA Chairman has asked the mobile users to show patience at CSCs and franchises as every effort is being made to ensure the provision of due support to them by the CSCs staff.Streamlining of mobile users’ data may take few months but once this process is completed, it will eventually benefit the telecom consumers. The purpose of this practice is to streamline the data of mobile users, which cannot be achieved without their cooperation. The consumers should contact relevant telecom operator’s customer consumer centre for verification if they receive any message by the operator otherwise their connection would be blocked," he briefed.He said the PTA wanted 100 percent verified data of the consumers and PTA website had recorded 3.2 million hits by customers."This lower number reflects either the consumers are satisfied with their data details or they are reluctant to do so. However, let me make it clear that their SIMs would be blocked if data is not verified within the stipulated time period," he said, adding that the corrected data details would be available after one month so the consumers should not get worried after verifying their data.He said the PTA was making sure that automated data verification is made. He urged the media as well as consumers to help the PTA and telecom operators to get the consumers’ data verified. In the wake of the problems faced by mobile users of small cities and towns in seeking their SIMs data correction, PTA has taken number of steps. It has allowed the selected franchises to receive the complaints regarding SIMs data for the convenience of mobile users.
These franchisees are only allowed to register the complaints by filling the undertaking forms, copy of which they return to the complainant. The franchisees are not allowed to amend the data rather they only forward those complaints to concerned mobile company for the correction in the data as desired by consumer.It may be noted that Customer Services Centers of mobile companies are experiencing considerable rush due to the ongoing SIM data correction process.."