Mobile Cellular Policy
January 28, 2004
(http://www.pakistanlaw.com/mobilepolicy28012004.pdf)
6.9 CUSTOMER CHARTER
All Licensees are encouraged to publish a Customer Charter, to be approved by the PTA.
The GoP wishes to see a significant improvement in the availability and quality of mobile services. The Customer Charter should provide commitments by the Licensee to Customers in respect of the standard and quality of the Licensed Service.
6.10 STANDARD CONTRACT
The Mobile Cellular Licensee shall submit a Standard Customer Contract before the commencement of its services to the PTA for approval.
The Licensee shall prepare a standard contract of service for use with its customers.
The Licensee shall file the standard contract, and amendments thereto from time to time, with the Authority for its approval.
The standard contract, as approved by the Authority, shall apply to all customers that obtain Mobile communications services from the Licensee.
6.11 PROTECTION OF CUSTOMER FROM UNSOLICITED FRAUDULENT COMMUNICATIONS
Operators should put in place mechanisms to prevent abuse of the systems which result in customers receiving unsolicited or fraudulent communications.
The international growth in unsolicited and fraudulent use of the mobile networks enticing customers to make high priced calls (“Scamming”) is a matter of concern. PTA after consultation with the industry will establish a code of practice for Mobile Operators to prevent such use. The code of practice will be produced before the end of 2004.
Introduction
The recent finalisation of the European Union Digital Single Market creates a striking contrast with the quality of service in the Pakistan cellular service provider market. While some parties pontificate about whether a decade-long negotiation process wasn’t a smidge excessive, the citizens of Pakistan know that 10 years is barely above 50% of the time since, for example, Ufone (established in 2000) was launched – & there is still little or no hope of an improvement of service quality or reduction in costs on the horizon.
But there is no need to get pessimistic about the matter. As long as there’s life, there’s hope. The first step towards recovery is to admit openly that you have a problem. Ufone, for instance, appears to have begun to embrace the concept of transparency. Last month, Ufone CEO Rainer Rathgeber held a press conference in which he promised to improve Ufone’s (occasionally horrific) service quality by, as a first step, discontinuing the “Zero SIM Distribution Program”. Zero SIMs are prepaid SIMs that Ufone has apparently been distributing free in Pakistan by the hundreds (or thousands) since an unknown date to unknown parties.
Therefore, in the spirit of assisting in Ufone’s recovery process (partly because I’m a Ufone SIM user myself), here are some pointers as to what the public might want to know:
#1:- How Did Ufone Choose Candidates To Receive Zero SIMs?
According to the media, countless jailbirds (both current & former) have been found in illegal possession of SIMs – while serving their sentences – since cellphones were introduced in Pakistan. Considering that most ordinary law-abiding citizens have never even heard of zero SIMs – which is possibly why Mr. Rathgeber had to officially announce their existence – who exactly has been getting these SIMs?
#2:- What Is The Average Life Span Of A SIM?
Every time there is a hiccup at a signal tower – & Pakistani cellular hiccups can take hours or days – a customer service representative is likely to inquire with an air of suspicion whether the customer is trying to blame a damaged SIM on the Cellular Service Provider. Gemalto, the world’s largest manufacturer of SIMs, is reported to be the supplier of most of the SIMs in use in Pakistan. How long does a Gemalto SIM card last?
#3:- Why Does Ufone Randomly Block Calls Between Subscribers Who Are Related?
ACCEPT OR DEFLECT!!! The jolting demand is what subscribers see on their cellphones & have to answer that they definitely accept in order to talk to family members – if they are lucky. The rest of the time, said family members just get to hear a curt prerecorded message telling them that the recipient’s cellphone is off (even though it happens to be charged, on & un-engaged). What is going on?
Satisficing Profits 