BT Cellnet bars calls to India and Pakistan

BT Cellnet customers have been prevented from making international calls to India and Pakistan throughout the weekend. This comes after the mobile operator uncovered fraudulent activity on its network.

Unusual levels of network traffic were reported last week and the company said its only option was to administer a universal ban. But the Consumers' Association (CA) warned that many customers could be eligible for compensation.

Although it won't confirm the cause of the fraud, BT Cellnet said it is aware of problems with its pre-pay phones. A spokeswoman said: "Phones may be being interfered with technically to allow free calls."

There have been a few cases where a chip inside a pre-paid phone is overridden and the user gets unlimited call time. However, the spokeswoman would not confirm if the two issues were connected.

Of nearly two million pre-paid phones, only a couple of thousand are being used fraudulently. However, Alan Stevens, editor of Which? Online - the Internet publishing arm of the Consumers' Association - pointed out that telephone fraud is a common problem for operators. According to Stevens: "Any telephone system is open to some kind of abuse, and it is up to the large networks to sort it out in a way that doesn't cause the masses to suffer as a result of the actions of a few."

Stevens said the CA's team of lawyers will look into the legal implications of the suspension of service, but he added: "To take action like this indicates that BT Cellnet has discovered a serious breach of network use."

Telecoms watchdog, Oftel, has said it is aware of the issue and will continue to monitor the situation. But a spokeswoman said: "Customers do have an alternative - it isn't exactly a universal service."

BT Cellnet said it hopes to have the ban lifted by the end of today.