The Hindu : National : SIM card shortage in Greater Nicobar

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Aug 31, 2005

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National

SIM card shortage in Greater Nicobar

Special Correspondent

CHENNAI: Mobile phone services of the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) in the Greater Nicobar Island seem to have been hit by the shortage of SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) cards.

According to the Ex-Servicemen Association, while the cards are not available at the authorised outlets of the BSNL, they can be obtained from some individuals who, the association general secretary M.C. Pappachan alleges, are selling them at a premium.

Officials at the BSNL office at Campbell Bay have not responded to the complaints of the public, he says, adding that it was at the initiative of the Central Government that members of the association were resettled and allotted land to the extent of 11 acres to 14.5 acres.

Acknowledging the receipt of the association's representation, P.K. Sikder, Chief General Manager of the Andaman and Nicobar circle of the BSNL, told The Hindu over phone from Port Blair that he would enquire into the matter.

Noting that there was one franchisee in Nicobar district, he said the complaint did not pertain to the franchisee. Perhaps, some retail sellers who got the cards from the franchisee might have sold them to the public at a higher rate. "But, they are independent," he said, adding that he would have the matter fully investigated.

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