Official data shared by PTA in Parliament has revealed that a total of 166,046 consumer complaints were filed against telecom services across Pakistan during fiscal year 2024-25, reflecting a sustained and growing pressure on network operators to deliver reliable connectivity to an increasingly demanding user base. The complaints were submitted through multiple channels maintained by PTA, including an online complaint management system, a dedicated mobile application, and toll-free helpline numbers indicating that consumers are actively using both digital and traditional avenues to escalate service grievances rather than tolerating poor quality silently.
The bulk of complaints, 159,325 in total, were directed at cellular mobile operators, underscoring the scale at which issues such as call drops, network outages, billing disputes, and data connectivity failures are being experienced by mobile users across the country. Of these, 157,923 complaints were addressed and resolved, reflecting a redress rate of 99.12 percent within the mobile segment, though the complaints disposal rate stood at 69.58 percent. Internet services attracted 5,011 complaints during the same period, with 4,703 resolved and a redress rate of 93.85 percent, while the disposal rate for internet-related grievances was recorded at 53.36 percent — a figure that points to a backlog in fully closing out cases within this category. Fixed-line telephony generated 1,418 complaints with a 97.95 percent redress rate, and Wireless Local Loop services accounted for 292 complaints, recording the highest disposal rate among all categories at 76.47 percent.
Across all service types, PTA resolved 164,249 of the 166,046 complaints received, reflecting an overall redress rate of 92.76 percent and a composite disposal rate of 64.23 percent. While the resolution figures indicate that PTA and the relevant operators are handling the majority of consumer grievances, the sheer volume of complaints filed during the year points to structural challenges that remain unresolved within Pakistan’s telecom sector. Rising complaint numbers, even when met with high resolution rates, are an indicator of deteriorating service experience at the consumer level — a concern that will require operators and regulators to go beyond reactive complaint handling and invest more deliberately in proactive network quality improvements, particularly as Pakistan moves toward the ambitious infrastructure expansion that a future fifth-generation network rollout will demand.
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