Unlicensed third parties: PTA takes serious notice of providing illegal internet services

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has taken serious note of providing illegal internet services by unlicenced third parties, which is harming the business of licencees, it is learnt.

Official documents revealed that these unlicenced parties try to produce various agreements with licencees to cover up the illegal business.

During the nationwide surveys and complaints received from various sources, PTA has noticed that unlicenced third parties are providing illegal internet services, consequently, harming the business of licencees. However, in most cases, these unlicenced parties try to produce various agreements with licencees to cover up the illegal business.

In order to eradicate this deep-rooted mushroom growth of illegal provision of internet services, the PTA has chalked out guidelines for FLL and CVAS licencees for provision of internet services through agreements.

All FLL and CVAS licencees are required to revise their existing agreements and sign new agreements as per following conditions:

a. Contracted party has to use company name of contracting party (licencee) at point of sales and for promotions etc; b. Invoice shall be generated by the licencee; c.

All users to be shown on the service load of the licencee and no user will be removed from licencee record merely on the basis that the said user is being served through a contracted party; d. Contracted party shall not deploy its own infrastructure or use infrastructure of cable TV operator; e. Licencees to notify PTA all contracts as following: (i) Contracts within a region (Regional office PTA); (ii) Contracts covering multiple regions (Enforcement Division PTA CHQ). All licenced operators shall be responsible for reporting the revenue on yearly basis to PTA generated through each contracted party.

Above in view, a three-month grace period is being given to all FLL and CVAS licencees for correction of anomalies in contracts. After the expiry of said period, PTA will start a nation-wide survey and enforcement action will be taken on any breach of above guidelines. However, grace period would not stop PTA to initiate action under Section 31 of the Act.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023