ISLAMABAD

Pakistan’s telecom regulator has intensified action against mobile operators over poor service quality and repeated violations of standards, issuing 39 show-cause notices to telecom companies over the past five years, according to official documents.

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) also issued 18 warning letters against operators for substandard mobile and data services, as consumer complaints over weak signals and disrupted connectivity continued to rise across multiple cities.

Documents reveal that the regulator imposed cumulative penalties of Rs68.9 million on telecom operators for failing to meet quality-of-service benchmarks. However, only Rs13.6 million has so far been recovered, while 11 cases remain pending in courts due to ongoing legal proceedings.

In an effort to monitor network performance, the PTA conducted 379 Quality of Service (QoS) surveys nationwide during the last three years. Of these, 136 surveys were initiated following complaints from consumers regarding poor mobile coverage and internet disruptions.

The surveys identified persistent issues related to mobile signals and data connectivity in several urban centres and remote regions, prompting the authority to issue repeated warnings to all telecom companies operating in affected areas.

According to the documents, some telecom operators have submitted compliance reports to the PTA, outlining corrective measures aimed at improving network performance and customer experience.

The government has meanwhile stepped up enforcement of telecom licence conditions to ensure better service delivery and accountability within the sector.

Officials said the PTA is also introducing new measures focused on network expansion and infrastructure sharing among telecom operators to improve nationwide connectivity and reduce service gaps.

The latest crackdown comes as Pakistan pushes to strengthen its digital economy and improve internet accessibility amid growing dependence on mobile broadband services.