PTA imposes Rs77.8mn fine on CM Pak for SIM geo-fencing breach

Business Recorder reported that the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has penalised China Mobile Pakistan (CM Pak) Rs77.8 million over SIM sales made beyond an approved location. The regulator's enforcement order traces the lapse to a March 30, 2026 field inspection in Islamabad, where a sales representative linked to the company's Taxila franchise was found selling SIMs at I-10 Markaz outside the franchise's approved territory, without separate door-to-door or kiosk permission.

CM Pak argued that the breach was a one-off lapse by a single data sales officer and that every affected SIM passed biometric verification. The PTA dismissed that defence, noting that passing biometric checks offers no remedy for a distinct geo-fencing violation. It also held that the operator still carries direct responsibility for sales made through its network, while corrective steps such as terminating the officer may count as mitigation without erasing the offence.

The PTA held CM Pak liable under Section 23 of the Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organization) Act, 1996, and ordered the Rs77,800,000 payment within 10 days of receiving the order. Failure to pay would trigger further legal action, and the authority stressed that geo-fencing is an essential safeguard, not a box-ticking exercise.