ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has imposed a Rs38.9 million fine on telecom operator Jazz over alleged violations related to the issuance, verification, activation and monitoring of corporate SIMs.
The regulatory action followed a complaint by Target Marketing (Private) Limited, which alleged that nearly 400 corporate SIMs had been issued in the company’s name without its request, consent, approval or authorisation.
The issue came to light after the company received a recovery notice from a third-party agency seeking more than Rs626,360 in outstanding dues allegedly linked to the SIMs.
Target Marketing said the SIMs had remained active for an extended period without its knowledge or approval, raising concerns over the procedures used to verify and monitor corporate SIMs.
Following the complaint, the PTA sought relevant records from Jazz to determine how the SIMs had been issued and verified. According to the regulator, however, the material submitted by Jazz was incomplete and did not contain mandatory corporate authorisations and end-user credentials.
Jazz submitted an NTN certificate, an old business agreement, contact details of a representative and a list of the 400 SIMs. The PTA found the documents insufficient to establish that the end users had been properly verified and identified in line with regulatory requirements.
The regulator maintained that telecom operators could not transfer responsibility for SIM verification and monitoring to corporate customers, franchises, sales channels or authorised representatives.
According to the PTA, an operator’s responsibility continues after a corporate SIM is issued and includes ensuring proper verification, activation, monitoring and traceability of end users.
The authority also rejected Jazz’s position that the matter was primarily a billing dispute or commercial disagreement, ruling that the case involved alleged non-compliance with mandatory regulations governing the issuance, verification and post-issuance monitoring of corporate SIMs.
After reviewing the complaint and relevant records, the PTA concluded that Jazz had failed to comply with applicable Subscriber Regulations and standard operating procedures relating to corporate SIM issuance, verification, activation and monitoring.
The regulator has directed Jazz to deposit the Rs38.9 million penalty within 30 days. Failure to pay the fine within the stipulated period could result in further legal action under the applicable law.
