DoT stops post-paid SMSes in J&K; MHA says no to it

New Delhi, Apr 16 (PTI) Within hours of the Telecom
Ministry ordering a ban of SMS services in the south Indian
state, Jammu and Kashmir, the Union Home Ministry on Friday
directed the DoT to undo it following strong protest by the
state government.
In a bid to address security concerns, the DoT had
asked the service providers to ban the SMS facility on
post-paid connections, a move dubbed as "unnecessary
harassment" by the J&K government, prompting the Home Ministry
of India to step in.
Reacting to the DoT move, J&K Chief Minister Omar
Abdullah slammed the Centre saying that its security concerns
were misunderstood. The issue was the bulk SMSes and not SMS
facility for individual subscribers.
"We asked for banning of the bulk SMS facility which we
believe is being used to spread rumours and gossip in the name
of news and also being used to cheat subscribers and such
organisations are mushrooming. This request has not been
understood properly (by the Centre)," Omar told PTI here.
He said that while dealing with the state, the Centre
should show more seriousness and understanding. "An officer
sitting in the Department of Telecommunication or Home
Ministry cannot decide what is right or what is wrong for the
people of my state," he said.
The DoT had directed 12 mobile operators, including
state-owned BSNL and other private players like Airtel and
Vodafone to ban SMS facility for post-paid subscribers, while
restricting the service for the pre-paid users to 10 SMSes per
day per subscriber in view of security concerns.
The state has more than 55 lakh mobile subscribers, both in
the pre-paid and post-paid categories. PTI AB
AHM


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