NA panel summons telecom operators over poor mobile, internet services amid PTA inaction

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunication has summoned officials of Jazz, Zong and Ufone over persistent complaints about poor mobile and internet services across the country, expressing concern that consumers are frequently facing call failures and inadequate network quality.

The committee, chaired by Syed Amin-ul-Haq, took serious exception to the quality of mobile services and questioned the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) officials over the action taken against telecom operators for failing to meet prescribed service standards.

During the meeting, the committee chairman complained about repeated call failures, saying consumers sometimes had to make the same call three times before it connected.

He stressed that improving the quality of mobile services was essential and questioned why consumers continued to face poor connectivity despite repeated complaints and regulatory action against telecom companies.

PTA acknowledges service quality problems

Briefing the committee, PTA officials acknowledged that problems with both internet quality and mobile services existed in different parts of the country.

The regulator informed lawmakers that it had issued four show-cause notices to telecom companies during the past six months over service-related issues.

The PTA officials further told the committee that 48 show-cause notices had been issued to telecom companies over the past few years, while 22 warning letters had also been issued.

The regulator said fines totalling Rs68.9 million had been imposed on telecom companies over violations.

PTA officials told the committee that the authority could impose a maximum fine of Rs350 million on a telecom company, depending on the nature and severity of a violation.

The figures prompted the committee to question whether regulatory penalties were producing any meaningful improvement in the quality of services available to consumers.

Jazz, Zong and Ufone summoned

The committee decided to summon representatives of Jazz, Zong and Ufone to its next meeting, seeking explanation over the reasons for poor service and the measures being taken to improve network quality.

The committee also directed the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication and the PTA to play a more effective role in ensuring that telecom operators comply with prescribed quality-of-service standards.

The latest action follows repeated concerns raised by parliamentary committees over the quality of mobile and internet services.

The National Assembly’s own records show that the committee has repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with telecom and internet services.

In July, it noted that users were experiencing slow internet speeds and repeated call connection failures despite multiple attempts.

At that meeting, the PTA told lawmakers that Pakistan’s available spectrum had increased substantially following the 5G spectrum auction, from 274 MHz to 754 MHz, and said the additional capacity was expected to improve services gradually.

The regulator also said 5G services had been launched in 22 cities during the first phase.

Power shortages affecting mobile networks

The quality of mobile services has also been linked to electricity shortages affecting telecom infrastructure.

The PTA told the committee in July that prolonged power outages were adversely affecting mobile towers and consequently disrupting mobile and internet services.

According to the regulator, some areas were experiencing load-shedding of up to 10 hours a day, affecting the operation of telecom infrastructure.

The matter had been taken up with the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority and distribution companies, while a high-level committee constituted by the prime minister was working on a longer-term solution for uninterrupted electricity supplies to telecom towers

The National Assembly committee had also proposed greater use of renewable energy, including solar and wind power, to keep telecom sites operational during power outages.

The latest committee action comes against the backdrop of repeated parliamentary criticism of the country’s telecom services.

In December 2025, the same National Assembly committee expressed dissatisfaction with the PTA’s performance, saying complaints about poor internet services were repeatedly being raised at its meetings without significant improvement.

The committee at that time said that the PTA’s official documents portrayed services as satisfactory while the situation on the ground was markedly different, with some areas facing severe difficulties or almost no internet connectivity.

Parliamentary concerns over mobile call quality are not new.

In 2023, another meeting of the National Assembly’s IT and Telecommunication Committee noted that calls were frequently being disconnected after only a few seconds while consumers were still being charged. The committee had directed telecom operators to improve call connectivity and internet services.

PTA quality tests show uneven performance

The concerns are also reflected in PTA’s quality-of-service assessments.

A PTA survey covering 18 cities between January and March 2026 found that none of the country’s four cellular operators achieved full compliance with all prescribed quality standards.

The survey covered voice calls, SMS, browsing, download and upload speeds, latency and network coverage. It involved thousands of measurements over 2,705 kilometres. Jazz recorded the highest overall compliance, while Zong performed strongly in voice services, uploads and coverage.

The findings suggested that while operators may meet many individual quality benchmarks, service performance remains uneven between operators, locations and different categories of service.

5G expected to improve capacity

The government and telecom regulator have pointed to the rollout of 5G as one avenue for improving network capacity.

Following the 2026 spectrum auction, Jazz, Ufone and Zong were among the major operators participating in the process. The PTA had said the initial 5G rollout is using existing mobile infrastructure, with new infrastructure expected to be deployed progressively.

The regulator has previously told the committee that broader network improvements could take several months as additional infrastructure is deployed.

For consumers, however, the immediate concern remains basic service reliability — including the ability to make calls without repeated attempts and access stable mobile internet.