PTA’s 3-Year Survey History Exposes Telco Issues, Complaints, and More

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) conducted a total of 438 quality of service surveys during the last three years, of which 232 were quarterly planned. Out of the quarterly planned surveys, 169 were complaint-based, 35 were road surveys, and 2 were carried out on railway tracks. In 2022, PTA conducted three quarterly surveys. In Q3, 17 cities were covered with 13 road surveys and 14 complaint-based surveys, resulting in a Show Cause Notice (SCN) to Ufone and a warning letter to Telenor against two cities, with compliance received. In Q4, surveys were conducted in 22 cities, including 13 roads and 30 complaint-based cases. Warning letters were issued to all CMOs in five cities, and compliance was received. In 2023, four quarterly surveys were carried out. In Q1, 18 cities were surveyed with 18 complaint-based cases, which produced satisfactory results. In Q2, 19 cities were covered along with 10 complaint-based surveys, again showing satisfactory results. In Q3, 24 cities and 14 complaint-based surveys were conducted, leading to warning letters issued to all CMOs against four cities, with compliance received. In Q4, PTA surveyed 20 cities and 5 complaint-based areas, which also resulted in satisfactory outcomes. In 2024, four quarterly surveys were completed. In Q1, 16 cities were surveyed with 13 complaint-based cases. In Q2, 23 cities were covered along with 26 complaint-based surveys, producing satisfactory results. In Q3, 18 cities were surveyed with 19 complaint-based cases, where an SCN was issued to Telenor and warning letters to other CMOs against four cities, with compliance received. In Q4, 17 cities were covered with seven complaint-based surveys, where warning letters were issued to all CMOs against four cities, and compliance was received. In 2025, two quarterly surveys have so far been carried out. In Q1, 19 cities were surveyed with 9 road and 8 complaint-based surveys, producing satisfactory results. In Q2, 19 cities, one railway track, and five complaint-based surveys were carried out, resulting in warning letters to all CMOs against three cities, with compliance received. During the last three years, PTA also received 65,846 complaints on its Complaint Management System (CMS) related to the quality of service and poor coverage. Out of these, 39,736 complaints were related to data services, 9,279 were quality of service issues, 8,890 were service interruptions due to load shedding, and 7,941 were service provision or coverage issues. PTA reported that 65,528 complaints were addressed, amounting to 99.51% of the total.