ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunication on Thursday expressed serious concern over the poor quality of mobile and internet services and decided to summon telecom companies (telcos) to seek direct answers over persistent network problems.
The committee was also informed by an official of the Engineering Development Board (EDB) that efforts were underway to seek tech giant Apple’s entry into Pakistan’s manufacturing market.
In its proceedings, the committee expressed concern over the quality of mobile services, with chairman Aminul Haque remarking that subscribers had to dial a number three times just to make a call.
‘The quality of mobile and internet services is deteriorating day by day after the spectrum auction instead of any improvement,’ the MQM-P lawmaker said.
The chairman then questioned the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) about the fines imposed during the last six months, noting that the regulator issued show-cause notices and warning letters, but did not impose sufficient fines on telecom companies.
Committee members Zulfiqar Ali Bhatti, Ahmad Ateeg Anwar, Sadiq Memon and Dr Mahesh Kumar stressed that the root causes of poor mobile service were not being addressed and criticised the PTA for repeatedly giving thesame response without improving the situation.
Committee member Shazia Fareed recalled she had received virtually no mobile signals during her stay at Islamabad’s Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims).
The committee made it clear that the PTA should perform its duties and inform parliament if there was any obstacle preventing it from taking action. Members proposed summoning representatives of telcos and seeking explanations from them directly.
Meanwhile, PTA officials assured the committee that the authority continuously monitored mobile and internet services and conducted surveys in cities to assess service quality.
They said telcos were given 30 days to improve their service quality and networks, while the PTA could impose a maximum fine of Rs350 million.
The committee also discussed the issue of taxes on imported mobile phones, and the potential payment of levies in instalments.
A PTA member clarified that the authority had no role in placing mobile phone taxes or in developing a mechanism for payment of such taxes in instalments, as all the tax matters were the domain of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).
Committee member Syed Ali Kasim Gilani said he raised the issue and also took up the matter of allowing consumers to pay the tax in instalments.
He said the FBR had informed him that the mechanism was available with the PTA, but questioned how the authority could develop an instalment mechanism when it did not collect the tax.