State-owned telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) on Thursday said the union government has no plan to remove restrictions on the roaming facilities between the prepaid subscribers of Jammu and Kashmir services area and the rest of the country.
Due to the restrictions, no mobile prepaid connection issued in Jammu and Kashmir works outside the state. Similarly, no prepaid mobile from the rest of the country works in the state due to security restrictions.
“The ban on all prepaid mobile services (roaming) is for certain security reasons and there is no plan to revoke this ban,” H K Verma, Chief general manager J&K telecom circle, said.
J&K receives around 80 lakh Vaishno Devi pilgrims, 5 lakh Amarnath pilgrims and a large number of tourists every year.
Even the residents of J&K, who use prepaid mobile connections, face inconvenience when they visit other states on short trips for medical treatment, or for business or tourism purposes.
The CGM said the BSNL was augmenting its infrastructure to provide ‘quality’ experience to subscribers.
However, according to subscribers there is “no justification in continuing the ban on the roaming on pre-paid telephony.”
“Now-a-days every SIM card is linked with Adhar, (the bioelectric identity proof). If any phone is misused, it is easy to detect it,” Vikas Gupta, a prepaid user of Jammu said.
“In the era of internet, the ban on prepaid mobile roaming services is irrelevant,” he said.
“People want to remain in contact with the friends and the family on social networking sites and apps like WhatsApp, etc., but the problem starts when prepaid travels outside the state,” he added.