ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has advised the public to avoid import, sale and use of telecom equipment without ‘valid permissions’ and ‘Certificate of Compliance (COC).’
The authority asked the pubic “not to buy GSM Amplifiers, Boosters, Repeaters, mobile phones & SIM boxes without valid permission/type approval/Certificate of Compliance (COC) as per section 29 of the Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-Organization) Act 1996.”
The PTA, in a news release, said such devices posed risk to health, security and degraded quality of service.
It also advised all websites and e-commerce mediums that were advertising and selling these devices to remove all such content from their respective websites to avoid any legal action in accordance with Section 31 of the Telecom Act 1996.
As per the PTA regulations, Cellular Mobile Operators (CMOs) and PTA Type Approval holders were allowed to import GSM Boosters and install at consumers’ premises. “Individuals installing boosters or amplifiers on their own are subject to legal action under the Act.”
To address the issues related to coverage and Quality of Service (QoS) standards, the PTA had issued directions to CMOs to improve the network coverage and performance in affected areas.
Furthermore, the authority had revised the coverage obligations and QoS standards for the operators through renewed licenses.
The authority said it was vigilant and had been taking action against the violators and advising the public from time to time against import and purchase through different mediums, sale and use of illegal GSM boosters and amplifiers to avoid any inconvenience and legal action.
The list of approved equipment can be viewed at PTA’s website: “https://www.pta.gov.pk/en/approved-equipments”.
