PTA tells telcos to enforce uniform SIM policy, implement 180-day minimum balance validity

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has ordered all three telcos to adopt a single approach to SIM expiry and recharge balances. The move came after the regulator found Zong and Telenor Pakistan falling short of the set rules, Dawn reported. PTCL has since acquired Telenor Pakistan, and the combined operation now goes by the name Ufone/Telenor.

Consumers had complained that the two operators demanded a minimum balance throughout the active life of a SIM, and cancelled numbers when it was not maintained. Unused credit was also not carried forward after a later top-up, a practice complainants said weighed heavily on average subscribers, particularly low-income ones. A Jazz official said a SIM's active base lasts 90 days, followed by a 180-day quarantine period before recycling.

The PTA's determination requires every telco to keep any recharge or balance valid for at least 180 days. Expired balances will be restored and usable after a later top-up made while the SIM remains active, under the Telecom Consumers Protection Regulations. The rules take effect on Oct 1, and the regulator noted that prepaid accounts make up roughly 97 per cent of mobile users across Pakistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan.