The National Assembly Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunication on Thursday expressed serious concern over the poor quality of mobile and internet services and decided to summon telecom companies to seek direct answers over persistent network problems. Committee chairman Aminul Haque remarked that subscribers had to dial a number three times just to make a call, adding that the quality of mobile and internet services is deteriorating day by day after the spectrum auction instead of improving. The chairman then questioned Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) officials about the fines imposed during the last six months, noting that the regulator issued show cause notices and warning letters but did not impose sufficient fines on telecom companies. Committee members Zulfiqar Ali Bhatti, Ahmad Ateeq Anwar, Sadiq Memon, and Dr Mahesh Kumar stressed that the root causes of poor mobile service were not being addressed and criticised PTA for repeatedly giving the same response without improving the situation, while committee member Shazia Fareed recalled receiving virtually no mobile signal during her stay at Islamabad’s Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences.
PTA officials assured the committee that the authority continuously monitors mobile and internet services and conducts surveys in cities to assess service quality, adding that telcos were given 30 days to improve their service quality and networks, while PTA could impose a maximum fine of Rs350 million. Officials further said that telcos often obtained stay orders from courts against penalties, and that several cases were pending before the courts, though the Telecom Tribunal was functional even as its decisions had also been challenged before courts. The authority maintained that service quality was improving after the launch of 5G and that rollout targets for telcos had been clearly defined, with a PTA member informing the committee that the number of 5G sites in Karachi had reached 279. IT Secretary Zarar Hasham Khan told the committee that telcos had installed equipment meeting international standards, and the government had prioritised improved service quality over revenue generation during the 5G spectrum auction held in March, though the committee ultimately decided to summon telcos at its next meeting and directed PTA to provide details of fines imposed on them and the amount recovered.
The committee also discussed efforts to bring Apple to Pakistan, with Haque questioning why the tech giant could not enter the country’s market when other international mobile companies were already operating locally. Engineering Development Board (EDB) Chief Executive Officer Hammad Mansoor told the committee that negotiations were under way to bring Apple into the country, adding that efforts were also being made to arrange a meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Apple CEO John Ternus during the former’s upcoming visit to the United States. Mansoor said an Apple store had already been established in Pakistan and expressed optimism that the company would also enter the country’s manufacturing market, telling the committee that 37 companies were currently manufacturing mobile phones in Pakistan and that more than 35 million devices had been manufactured locally so far, with Apple being the only major smartphone company yet to manufacture phones domestically. Haque directed the IT ministry and PTA to come prepared with detailed information at the next meeting and to continue efforts to bring Apple to Pakistan.
Beyond service quality and Apple’s potential entry, the committee also took up the issue of taxes on imported mobile phones and the potential payment of levies in instalments. A PTA member clarified that the authority had no role in placing mobile phone taxes or developing a mechanism for instalment payments, since all tax matters fall under the domain of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). Committee member Syed Ali Qasim Gilani said he had raised the instalment issue, noting that the FBR had told him the mechanism was available with PTA while questioning how the authority could develop an instalment mechanism when it does not collect the tax itself, and the IT secretary said the matter was not in his knowledge but promised to discuss it with the PTA chairman and brief the committee at its next meeting. Haque added that the government’s vision should be smartphones for all, pointing out that a good quality phone is currently available in Pakistan for around Rs60,000. The committee separately discussed electricity supplied to telecom infrastructure and the demand for industrial tariffs, with IT ministry official Muhammad Jahanzeb noting that the ministry had requested the Power Division ensure uninterrupted electricity to telecom towers, since the sector was declared an industry in 2004 and the 2021 Finance Act had also recognised telecom as an industry, though the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) had refused to extend industrial tariff status to telecom, prompting the committee to decide to summon Nepra and Power Division officials to discuss the issue further and directing the IT ministry to complete the required paperwork regarding the industrial status and tariff issue.
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