news details |
|
|
| Ban on SMS imposed, then revoked within hours | | |
EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Apr 16: In a dramatic turn of events, the Centre first imposed a ban on SMS (short message service) for post-paid subscribers Friday much to the surprise of the state government and the subscribers, then, within hours, it lifted the ban.
The ban was imposed after the state government requested the Centre to ban bulk SMS facility, but the latter imposed ban on all SMSes for post-paid subscribers while restricting the facility for pre-paid users from midnight tonight due to security concerns.
Giving clarification about the state's request, chief minister Omar Abdullah said, "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."
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 the home ministry cannot decide what is right or what is wrong for the people of J&K," he added.
The telecom ministry had banned text messages for post-paid subscribers, or those who're billed monthly for their cellphones by telecom operators.
The Department of Telecom had asked the state's 12 operators, including state-owned BSNL and other private players like Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Essar, to withdraw text message service to their post-paid users in J&K altogether.
This is the second time since November that the government had issued and then withdrawn rules on cellphone usage in Jammu and Kashmir.
Earlier, the Home Ministry had banned pre-paid services for more than two and a half months in view of security concerns.Earlier, when the news of ban on SMSes in J&K was telecast by news channels, everybody was surprised over the Centre's this surprise move.
The department of telecommunications had banned forthwith SMSes for post-paid subscribers, while in case of pre-paid subscribers, the facility had been restricted to 10 SMSes per day per subscriber.The DoT had stated that SMS messages, which originated from outside J&K service area in India and from the networks of International
Long Distance (ILD) operators, should not be delivered to Mobile subscribers in J&K service area.The operators had also been directed to immediately stop all tariff packages offering free SMS service.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
