Islamabad (HRNW)- The National Assembly Standing Committee on Information Technology has summoned representatives of major telecom companies over widespread complaints regarding substandard mobile and internet services across the country.
A meeting of the committee was held at Parliament House under the chairmanship of MNA Syed Amin-ul-Haq. During the meeting, members expressed serious concern over poor mobile connectivity and internet quality, emphasizing the need for immediate improvement in telecom services.
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) officials acknowledged that problems with mobile and internet services exist nationwide. They said four show-cause notices had been issued to telecom companies during the past six months, while 48 show-cause notices and 22 warning letters had been issued over the past several years. Fines totaling Rs68.9 million have also been imposed, while the PTA has the authority to impose a maximum fine of Rs350 million.
Committee member Ahmed Atiq said mobile service problems exist in around 70 percent of the country. Other members also highlighted poor services, including at PIMS, Islamabad, where mobile connectivity is reportedly so weak that even making calls is difficult.
IT Ministry Secretary Zarrar Hashim Khan attributed some of the poor service quality to inadequate equipment and hardware. He said a joint committee comprising K-Electric and the Ministry of IT had been formed to explore measures to protect telecom towers from load-shedding, which can disrupt both telecommunications and business operations.
The committee summoned representatives of Jazz, Zong and Ufone to its next meeting to seek explanations and discuss measures for improving mobile and internet services.
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