Recharge or balance: PTA orders CMOs to give 180-day validity

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has ordered cellular mobile operators to give prepaid subscribers at least 180 days’ validity on every recharge or balance, while making expired balances automatically available again upon the next recharge.

The decision, aimed at protecting millions of prepaid users from permanent loss of their unused balance, will take effect from October 1, 2026.

According to a determination issued by the PTA, around 97 percent of cellular mobile subscribers in Pakistan, Azad Jammu & Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan are prepaid users. The Authority noted that forfeiture of unused balances particularly affects low-income consumers and results in direct financial loss.

Under the decision, all cellular mobile operators will be required to provide a minimum balance validity period of 180 days for any amount of recharge or balance.

The PTA further directed that any balance which expires during the active life of a SIM must be automatically reinstated and made usable when the subscriber performs a subsequent recharge.

The operators have also been barred from adopting unfair commercial practices while implementing the decision.

The determination follows multiple complaints received by the regulator regarding the forfeiture of unused prepaid balances after expiry of their validity periods.

The PTA had earlier issued a consultation paper seeking views from cellular mobile operators, subscribers and the general public on two proposals: allowing prepaid balances to remain valid throughout the active life of a SIM, and linking unused balances to a subscriber’s CNIC so that they could either be restored on a new SIM or refunded.

The majority of public respondents supported permanent validity of prepaid balances throughout the active life of the SIM, describing the money as consumers’ hard-earned income. A significant number also supported retaining balances at CNIC level and allowing their restoration or refund.

However, most cellular operators opposed the CNIC-based mechanism, citing technical complications, fraud risks, ownership disputes, system overhauls, and additional operational and compliance costs.

Jazz supported the first proposal and told the PTA that it had already implemented a mechanism under which prepaid balance remains valid throughout the active life of the SIM. Telenor, meanwhile, opposed indefinite validity but said expired balances were automatically reinstated following a subsequent recharge.

PTML and CMPak also opposed indefinite validity, arguing that it could create permanent financial liabilities, encourage dormant SIMs and complicate financial reporting and numbering-resource management.

The PTA noted that operators had nevertheless acknowledged the importance of protecting consumers against permanent loss of prepaid balances.

International benchmarking also supported the regulator’s intervention. The determination cited the UK practice of Vodafone, where prepaid balances remain valid while the SIM remains active and subscribers can request refunds of unused balances or bundles within 60 days of disconnection.

The PTA concluded that a balance-validity framework could protect consumers without undermining the commercial sustainability of operators.

“There must be a minimum validity and reinstatement of expired balance(s) upon recharge,” the Authority concluded, saying the approach was aligned with domestic and international best practices.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026