The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has continued its crackdown on substandard telecom services across the country, imposing fines totaling Rs 689 million over the past five years on various telecom companies for failing to meet service quality standards. These penalties were based on numerous complaints and technical assessments highlighting widespread service disruptions and performance issues.
According to newly released documents, significant disruptions have affected mobile and internet services nationwide. Around 9,000 mobile sites across the country are currently facing network availability problems. The documents reveal that prolonged power outages, unresolved right-of-way issues, and inconsistent access to commercial electricity have severely impacted network performance.
They further indicate that electricity theft, limited power infrastructure, and incidents of vandalism have also contributed to network instability, resulting in a sharp decline in service quality—particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and Gilgit-Baltistan. Despite repeated claims from telecom operators, network availability still falls short of the standards required under licensing conditions.
The reports also state that PTA received more than 8,000 service-related complaints during the first half of the current year, of which 99.17% were resolved. Meanwhile, 11 cases related to PTA-imposed penalties remain pending in various courts, with final decisions yet to be announced.
