Will the Minister of COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY be pleased to state:-

(a)whether the current discussion on customer verification of prepaid customers is driven by national security consideration or any other;

(b)if so, keeping in view the national security consideration, in what manner this proposal would be hundred per cent fool proof;

(c)whether sampling for security verification be equivalent to suggest that, immigration should check cent per cent visa rather than ten per cent sampling; and

(d)Government`s views on prepaid verification?

ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (DR. SHAKEEL AHMAD)

(a) & (b) As per conditions of Cellular Mobile Telephone Service (CMTS) andUnified Access Services (UAS) Licences, the Licensees are required to ensure adequate verification of each and every customer before enrolling him as a subscriber. As per instructions issued from time to time regarding subscriber verification, the service providers are required to obtain photograph and authenticated copies of requisite identify and address proof from all the customers (both pre-paid and post-paid) before enrollment. The above condition of Licence Agreement and instructions issued in this regard from time to time are based on national security considerations.

(c)       There are no instructions regarding sampling for security verification.

(d)       The views of the Government on subscriber verification (for both pre-paid and post- paid) are reflected in the licence conditions and the instructions issued in this regard from time to time.