A shocking finding of a recent quality of service (QoS) assessment by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) revealed that cellular mobile operators (CMOs) had not been meeting the key performance indicators (KPIs) outlined in their licences and regulations.
The survey, which was conducted in numerous cities of Sindh, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, found serious issues with voice and latency, as well as webpage loading times.
According to the report, CMOs have fallen short of the QoS-mandated five-second standard for webpage loading times.
In addition, despite modest advancements from earlier surveys, the latency benchmarks for 4G/LTE and 3G technologies were also not satisfied in a number of cities.
Data tests involved recording samples of signal strength, and only one operator in each of the cities surveyed was able to satisfy the benchmark.
PTA Instructions to Telcos
The PTA has given the operators directives, advising telcos to implement remedial actions and enhance service quality to adhere to the licensed criteria.
However, industry insiders have emphasized the difficulties the Pakistani telecom sector is facing, such as the effects of last year’s floods and problems with Letters of Credit that have hampered project execution and reduced service quality.
It is difficult for telcos to increase their capacity and satisfy increased demand as a result of the present economic crisis and financial problems.
Due to the implementation of cost-cutting initiatives, the quality of the service has decreased.
The assessment also discovered problems with phone service, with several KPIs in some regions falling below the permitted limits. 245 of the 15,894 calls that were made failed, and 107 were disconnected before the two-minute mark.
The PTA evaluated the CMOs’ adherence to KPIs across several geographies, taking into account mobile network coverage, phone services, and mobile broadband speed.
To ensure a positive experience for their clients, the mobile operators must urgently improve performance and service quality, according to the poll results.
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