CIOL:COAI completes verification process

Bhaskar Hazarika

NEW DELHI: Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) on Saturday denied seeking extension on the deadline from the Department of Telecom (DoT) on the subscriber re-verification by mobile operators.

Speaking to CyberMedia News, TV Ramachandran, director general, COAI, said that COAI and Association of Unified Telecom Service Providers of India (AUSPI) has not sought for any extension on the deadline.

There have been recent reports of COAI and AUSPI seeking extension on the deadline for the subscriber verification process.

“We have completed the verification process within the time frame and have not sought for any extension from the government. Almost all the subscribers have attained their numbers in the last 10 months time being granted for verification and the numbers are good,” he informed.

Stating on disconnection of some of the accounts of unverified subscribers, Ramachandran appealed to all the subscribers, who have not been verified, to cooperate with the industry and complete the necessary formalities.

Countries like South Africa, Malaysia and Singapore where the government has instructed to carry out verification of the subscriber base has been granted 12 to 36months for verification. South Africa has been offered 36 months to complete the subscribers verification process and in Malaysia and Singapore a year.

The verified status is encouraging but he denied revealing the numbers. “There cannot be 100 per cent fool proof mechanism in any case, but the industry has done its best to make this move successful,” Ramachandran added.

However, sources in the industry informed that on the last day of the verification many subscriber accounts could freeze and the numbers could be more than 10 million. Most of the operators are mum on the re-verification status.

Darryl Green, CEO, Tata Teleservices during recent interaction with CyberMedia News informed that the operator has completed 99 per cent of verification by mid-March. Of the 93 per cent pre-paid segment and 7 per cent of the post-paid segment the company claims to have verified almost all its customer base. “We strictly follow the guidelines laid by the government and have verified our subscribers till now,” Green informed.

Industry sources informed that the two telecom PSUs, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) are yet to verify more than 30 per cent of its subscriber base. “It seems that most of the subscribers who failed to receive the re-verification call will face disconnection as the department has refused to extend the deadline. It will be a loss for the operators who failed to meet the deadline,” the source added.

DoT had strictly instructed operator to complete the re-verification by March 31. Failure of operators to verify would mean disconnection of the mobile numbers or the operator will face a penalty of Rs 1,000 for each unverified subscriber.

DoT took up the subscriber verification issue after it found out that most of the operators are offering mobile connections without proper documentation and verification. According to the license terms laid by the government, each operator must strictly carry out documentation and physical verification of the subscriber before offering a connection.

© CyberMedia News

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