PTA indefinitely extends registration deadline for mobile phones

On the suggestion of the Senate Standing Committee on Information Technology & Telecommunication, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) on Thursday decided to extend the deadline of implementation of Device Identification Registration and Blocking System (DIRBS) until further notice.

The Senate Standing Committee on information technology directed the PTA not to block mobile phones until the committee approved its Device Identification, Registration and Blocking System (DIRBS) mechanism, the authority said in a statement on Thursday that the Oct 20 deadline had been extended indefinitely. The Senate further directed the authorities to first launch an awareness campaign to educate the public about the implications of the move.

The committee members were of the view that the system had spread panic amongst mobile phone users. Consumers can continue using DIRBS facility to verify the status of the mobile device’s IMEI(s) for now. According to a PTA’s press statement, people can continue using DIRBS facility to verify the status of the mobile device’s IMEI(s). Earlier, the Senate Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunication directed the PTA to extend by one month its October 20, 2018 deadline for blocking unregistered mobile phones.

The parliamentary panel raised questions as to why no action had been taken against dealers and importers and why the implementation of policy directives was delayed. However, the committee members were of the view that not all the 150 million mobile phone users could understand the PTA message and afford the purchase of a new phone. Despite the PTA chairman’s best efforts to convince and pacify the committee members, they found flaws and errors in DIRBS throughout during his presentation on the mechanism.

How to verify your mobile

To verify mobile device status, users will send device’s IMEI number to 8484 via SMS, or PTA website or by downloading DIRBS Android mobile application from Google Play Store. If you don’t know your IMEI number then simply dial *#06#, a number will appear on your screen, you can copy it and then continue with the proceedings. In line with Telecommunication Policy 2015, PTA developed a Device Identification Registration & Blocking System (DIRBS) for facilitation of general public.