Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has stepped up nationwide monitoring of telecom services to improve mobile network coverage, voice calls, and internet quality. Between October 8 and 14, 2026, the authority carried out monitoring activities through its zonal teams in locations including Thatta, Dera Ghazi Khan, Mandi Bahauddin, Quetta, Faisalabad, and Gilgit-Baltistan. During these visits, PTA officials assessed telecom services and identified issues affecting consumers, and telecom operators were directed to resolve problems related to mobile network coverage, voice calls, and internet services within specified deadlines. The authority also confirmed that an issue involving the closure of a telecom site in Faisalabad had been resolved, and said it would keep working with operators, relevant organisations, and local administrations to improve network performance.
The latest round follows a larger inspection drive the week before. Between September 30 and October 7, PTA field teams inspected 115 telecom sites across Pakistan, with Lahore accounting for the most at 39 sites, followed by Karachi with 17, Sukkur with 16, Multan and Rawalpindi with 14 each, Quetta with eight, Abbottabad with four, and Gilgit with three. Teams checked network performance, voice and data service quality, coverage, and the availability of backup power at towers. The focus was on the problems consumers complain about most, including call connection failures, dropped calls, slow mobile internet, and weak coverage, and PTA said it had engaged local administrations, elected representatives, and community members to help identify problem areas. Where faults were found, the relevant operators were told to take corrective action.
The monitoring sits alongside a more specific order for the twin cities. PTA has directed mobile operators to close coverage gaps across Rawalpindi and Islamabad by October 2026, telling them to install new sites where needed and to add sites alongside the rollout of new 5G spectrum bands, with financial penalties possible for operators that fail to show measurable improvement. It has also used its enforcement powers on service quality in recent weeks, imposing combined fines of Rs145.833 million on Telenor Pakistan, Pakistan Telecom Mobile Limited, and Zong over quality of service violations. Parliamentary committees have pressed the regulator on poor service as well, which helps explain why PTA is publishing a steady stream of field inspection updates.
The latest announcement leaves out several details. It does not name the operators that were directed to make fixes, say how many sites were inspected during October 8 to 14, or state what the deadlines are, so consumers cannot tell which companies are being pushed or by when. The way these updates have been issued so far, with directions to operators and reports of resolved cases such as the Faisalabad site, shows activity rather than results. The real test is whether PTA follows up to verify that fixes were made, and whether repeated failures lead to penalties instead of further directions. Until the authority publishes operator-level findings and deadlines, subscribers will have only the regulator’s word that coverage, call quality, and internet speeds are improving in the places it has visited.
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