CMOs block 58m handsets on telecom authority's directives.

Karachi -- Cellular Mobile Operators (CMOs) have blocked nearly 58 million handsets of different brands on the directives of telecom authority due to invalid IMEIs and non-payment of taxes by the users, which ultimately cost the customers and the growth of the mobile broadband users in the country.

According to the industry, telecom operators were receiving aggressive directives from the telecom watchdog to disable the handsets at large number since the start of 2020 under the rules of Device Identification, Registration and Blocking System (DIRBS) on all Cellular Mobile Operators. The data available to the scribe said that as many as 13 million handsets were blacklisted as of 15 January 2019 whereas over 45 million handsets were blocked till the mid of January this year. Amongst these, 15 million have invalid IMEIs, while 30 million are handsets surprisingly with valid IMEIs but taxes have not been paid on these within the 60 days stipulated time period.

The handsets mainly blocked were brought into the country through imports however the new or reconditioned handsets were blocked for functioning on the local networks due to lack of awareness of the system among the users and higher duties on the handsets. According to Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), a customer is liable to pay a tax of Rs. 17,650 on the handset with prices ranging from $350 to $500. The amount of tax was set even higher level at Rs. 31,520 for the handset with prices of above $500. Industry sources said not only the exercise of blocking handsets perturbed the smartphone users at large but it is also hampering the growth of their mobile broadband services in the country adversely.

They...