PTA has recovered Rs. 13.6 million out of the Rs. 68.9 million in penalties imposed on telecom operators over service quality violations during the last five years, according to a written reply submitted to parliament by Federal Information Technology Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja. The recovered amount represents around 19.7 percent of the total penalties imposed by the regulator. The disclosure highlights a significant enforcement gap, with more than four-fifths of the penalties levied against operators for poor quality of service remaining uncollected even as consumers continue to raise complaints about network performance across the country.
The minister informed the National Assembly that PTA issued 39 show-cause notices and 18 warning letters to telecom operators over poor quality of service and non-compliance with regulatory standards, with 11 cases currently sub-judice. Enforcement measures included fines, warning letters, and compliance directives against cellular mobile operators. Official data showed that PTA conducted 379 quality of service surveys during the last three years, including planned and complaint-based inspections across cities, roads, and railway tracks. Of those surveys, 136 were conducted in response to public complaints while the remainder followed planned inspection schedules, indicating that the regulator has been active in monitoring service quality even if the financial recovery from enforcement actions has remained limited.
The parliamentary reply stated that the government and PTA are taking several measures to improve telecom services nationwide, including stricter enforcement of licence conditions, network expansion, infrastructure sharing, national roaming, and the deployment of modern technologies. The minister further stated that Pakistan’s available telecom spectrum has been expanded by 480 megahertz, more than doubling previous capacity. The government expects the additional spectrum to improve mobile broadband services, with projected fourth-generation speeds increasing from around 14 megabits per second to nearly 120 megabits per second, while future fifth-generation speeds are expected to reach up to 150 megabits per second. PTA has also directed telecom operators to establish 1,000 new sites annually, including expansion into underserved areas, to improve nationwide coverage. The combination of expanded spectrum, mandatory site installation targets, and stricter licence enforcement represents the government’s current framework for addressing the quality of service shortfalls that the penalty data makes plainly visible, though the low recovery rate on existing fines raises questions about the practical deterrent effect of the regulatory action taken so far.
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