Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has formally escalated its concerns over the impact of ongoing power outages on mobile network quality, sharing a set of urgent recommendations with the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunications and other key stakeholders to prevent further deterioration of cellular services across the country. The authority has warned that without immediate government intervention, the situation risks producing more serious and widespread disruptions in a telecommunications network that now serves over 190 million subscribers.
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has asked that telecom infrastructure be excluded from loadshedding schedules, and has suggested that telecom towers should receive uninterrupted electricity through dedicated express feeders to keep networks running smoothly. At present, telecom operators are struggling with frequent power disruptions, with backup systems being used more often, though they are not a long-term solution. Diesel and other fuel supplies are quickly exhausted during extended outages, while rising petroleum costs are making operations even harder to manage.
To ease financial pressure, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has also recommended that the telecom sector be shifted to an industrial electricity tariff, a step expected to reduce operational costs and help maintain more stable service delivery across the country. The authority has warned that delays in action could lead to more serious disruptions in cellular services, stressing that government support is necessary, especially through distribution companies, to ensure priority power supply to critical telecom sites. Coordination between departments has been described as essential for network stability.
Following Pakistan Telecommunication Authority’s input, the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunications has already taken action, reaching out to power distribution companies across the country and urging them to prioritise express feeders and ensure uninterrupted electricity for important telecom infrastructure. Officials say cellular services have already started showing signs of degradation due to ongoing electricity shortages, with backup systems alone unable to handle long outages as fuel reserves run out quickly. The urgency of the matter is compounded by the fact that Pakistan’s telecom operators have been simultaneously grappling with rising diesel prices driven by the regional energy crisis, making backup power generation increasingly costly at precisely the moment when it is being relied upon most heavily. Pakistan Telecommunication Authority’s push for express feeders and an industrial tariff reclassification represents an attempt to address both the supply and cost dimensions of the crisis through a coordinated policy intervention rather than leaving individual operators to absorb the impact on their own.
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