China Mobile Pakistan (CMPak), the most invested among Pakistan's mobile broadband operators, can claim victory. Thanks to a petition from Zongs sponsor, policy of maximum five Sims per CNIC - which was put in force in May 2012 via a Supreme Court order - would now cede to extend to data-only Sims. As per a news item in this paper last Friday, in addition to a ceiling of five voice (2G) Sims, each CNIC-holder can now purchase a maximum of three data-only Sims (3G+4G).
The relaxation came last Thursday. PTA showed flexibility and made issuance of data-only Sims exclusive of the prior limit on voice Sims. CMPak seemed pleased. Disposing of the matter, the Supreme Court, under the stewardship of the honourable Chief Justice, was also accommodating in view of its prior judgment.
The apex court also respected the PTAs quasi-legislative power by observing that the telecoms regulator "would be authorised to approve increase in the numbers of mobile phone SIMs without prior permission of the Court in future."
Its a nice win-win for everyone involved. But the victory may be pyrrhic. There are three reasons for that assertion.
First, the petition's outcome may just have legitimised the Sim restriction regime for 3G and 4G services as well. The security concerns that prompted the apex courts May 2012 verdict have largely dissipated and after the Sim verification drive, PTA and operators are in a position to reasonably conclude that each Sim belongs to a CNIC. One can argue that security isn't foolproof yet, but for that, as per government logic, the five-Sim limit is already there for 2G.
Why extend such a restriction to Internet services on 3G and 4G data networks? We are not even dissecting law enforcement agencies argument that cellular services are to chiefly blame for law and order breakdowns. Mind you, so far, LEAs haven't publicly communicated any empirical evidence that cellular service is an enabler for terrorist acts, leave alone Internet services being the facilitator. Correlation is never enough to establish causality.
Second, the three-Sim restriction may not help consumer choice. The five-Sim restriction for 2G service at least allows every CNIC-holder to try out each of the five cellular services and then actively use the ones s/he finds more relevant to his or her needs. We have four 3G operators, one 4G operator and another LTE operator. Consumers cannot try out all the services when there is a three-Sim ceiling for data.
And third, the mobile broadband market is in its early growth stage. Putting such restriction may not be conducive for usage. Its the era of multiple devices, which is fast catching up in Pakistan. More and more urbanites are seen carrying Smartphones, tablets, besides other electronic devices powered by data Sims. When systems are in place to issue each and every Sim against biometric verification, issuance of more data-only Sims per capita doesn't pose a risk to national security.
While there are structural hurdles saddling the sectors expansion prospects (for more on this, please read "State of Telecom," published in this space on Thursday, November 5, 2015), operators could use a little help in this area, at least. They may feel a reprieve right now. A year on, when three data-only Sims would seem too little, they will again knock on regulators door. The regulator must rethink whether it makes sense to keep the restriction on data-Sims in place.
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