PTA warns against import of mobile phone jammers

By Muhammad Yasir

KARACHI: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has reiterated its warning against the instalment and imports of mobile phone jammers in different places and asked to dismantle at the earliest before legal action by the authority is taken.

The authority has also directed all traders of telecom equipments not to import mobile phone jammers without prior permission of the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoITT).

However, the telecom watchdog may authorise any company or individual for setting up jammers and import it as per policy.

The telecom watchdog has carried out a continuous drive against the instalment of illegal jammers that block frequency of GSM-enabled mobile phone services in the installed and surrounded areas, affecting quality of services of mobile phone operators in the particular region.

It has been witnessed that mobile phone jammers have been equipped in mosques, educational institutions, hospital for avoiding ringtone noises and loud verbal communication. Moreover commercial banks have set up jammers for security purposes in the wake of increasing bank heists in the commercial cities. These jamming instruments create wave cycles that disable frequencies of GSM networks within certain areas, resulting in mobile sets in failing to accept signals. Analysts said the jammers’ coverage areas vary from half to two kilometres – mostly depending on the environment and frequencies of the GSM networks.

They said that anti-signal equipments are active mostly in the areas where the cellular phone towers are established at distant places. Hence, the customers face inconvenience in those areas while receiving calls, SMS, MMS and Emails on their respective networks, they added.

The regulator has dismantled scores of jammers from mosques in different cities. In 2011, the telecom watchdog removed 61 jammers across Pakistan to ensure interference free spectrum for the telecom operators and uninterrupted network coverage to customers.

Home | Business