PTA Sets 180-Day Validity for All Prepaid Mobile Recharges
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has directed mobile network operators to give prepaid customers a minimum validity period of 180 days on every recharge, introducing a major consumer-protection measure affecting millions of mobile users across Pakistan. The new framework is scheduled to take effect on October 1, 2026, and also requires operators to restore expired prepaid balances when a customer subsequently recharges an active SIM.
The regulator's decision addresses complaints from subscribers who lost unused credit after operator-defined validity periods expired. PTA found the issue particularly significant because prepaid connections account for around 97 percent of cellular subscriptions in Pakistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. For customers who recharge in smaller amounts or use their phones less frequently, forfeiture of remaining credit can translate directly into financial loss.
Under the determination, operators must ensure that any prepaid recharge or available balance remains valid for at least six months. If credit expires while the SIM itself is still active, that balance must become available again after the subscriber makes another recharge. PTA has also instructed mobile companies to avoid commercial practices that could undermine the intended consumer protections while implementing the new rules.
The decision followed a consultation process in which PTA sought feedback from telecom operators, subscribers and members of the public. The regulator considered proposals including keeping prepaid balances valid for the full active life of a SIM and creating a system linked to a customer's CNIC that could allow unused funds to be transferred, restored or refunded. Public feedback largely favoured stronger protection against the permanent loss of prepaid credit.
Telecom operators raised different concerns during the consultation. Jazz supported the broader principle of protecting balances and told the regulator that it already had a mechanism allowing prepaid credit to remain available while a SIM stayed active. Telenor opposed unlimited validity but said its system could restore expired balances after a customer recharged. PTML and CMPak also expressed reservations about indefinite validity, citing issues including technical changes, dormant accounts, financial liabilities and management of numbering resources.
PTA ultimately opted for a 180-day minimum period combined with automatic balance reinstatement, seeking a middle ground between consumer demands and operators' technical and commercial concerns. The regulator also examined international practices, including arrangements used by overseas telecom providers, as it considered how prepaid balances could be protected without creating an unsustainable burden for mobile companies.
The change could have a broad impact because prepaid services dominate Pakistan's mobile market and are widely used by consumers who recharge according to need rather than on fixed monthly contracts. Once the rules take effect, subscribers who do not regularly use their remaining balance will have substantially more time before it expires, while customers whose credit lapses during an active SIM period will no longer permanently lose that amount simply because the validity window ended.
Mobile operators will now need to prepare their billing and account-management systems for the October implementation date and ensure their recharge policies comply with PTA's determination. The regulator's order establishes a common minimum standard across the industry, with the next phase focused on operator implementation and ensuring that the revised balance-validity protections are applied consistently to prepaid users.