Govt yet to decide fate of prepaid mob services in J&K, NE

New Delhi, March 29

With the government is yet to decide on extending permission to telecom service providers for prepaid mobile phone services in these Jammu and Kashmir, Assam and other northeastern states beyond March 31, the fate of the facility hangs in balance.           

If a decision is not taken within two days time, services to 33 million subscribers will be affected.

A high-level committee headed by Union Home Secretary LC Goyal will deliberate on the issue on Monday to take a final call, highly placed sources said.

The Home Ministry is expected to give its nod to continue the services in the three telecom circles — Jammu and Kashmir, Assam and Northeast — with some riders that include restrictions on some frontier pockets and sensitive areas where there is presence of militant groups.

A few norms could also be added in the existing subscriber verification process.

While J&K sharing its border with Pakistan and most of the northeastern states share international border with countries such as China, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Bhutan, these areas are sensitive for India. Of roughly 35 million telecom subscribers in the three circles, about 33 millions are pre-paid subscribers.

Currently, telecom companies offering GSM and CDMA technology platform have permission to continue the service in these sensitive regions till March 31.

The permission, if granted, will be valid for two years. Telecom service providers were last given permission to operate pre-paid services in the three circles in May 2013.   

In 2009, the Department of Telecom had banned pre-paid mobile phone services in these regions citing national security grounds but withdrew it the next year after it tightened verification of new customers and ordered re-verification of existing subscribers. — PTI