Pakistan’s telecom regulator, the PTA, has published a three-year breakdown of its quality checks and customer complaints, revealing both improvements and persistent weaknesses in mobile services across the country.
Over 400 Quality Surveys Conducted
Between 2022 and mid-2025, the PTA carried out 438 service-quality surveys nationwide. More than half of these were routine quarterly assessments, while others were targeted checks based on public complaints, road coverage inspections, and even tests along railway tracks.
The results varied year to year. In 2022, three major survey rounds led to enforcement notices against operators that fell short of standards. The following year, most networks passed with satisfactory ratings, though several were still warned. In 2024, compliance issues re-emerged, prompting a show-cause notice to one operator and fresh warnings to others. By mid-2025, two survey rounds had already been completed, with operators in three cities flagged for service lapses.
Complaints Tell a Bigger Story
While surveys show mixed progress, complaint data suggests chronic pain points for telecom users. From 2022 to 2025, the PTA’s complaint management system logged 65,846 cases.
- Data services made up the bulk with nearly 40,000 complaints.
- Quality of service problems (call drops, slow connections, etc.) accounted for over 9,200.
- Load-shedding–linked disruptions triggered another 8,890 complaints.
- Coverage and service provision issues added around 7,900.
Despite the heavy inflow, the PTA says it closed 99.5% of cases, with 65,528 complaints marked as resolved.
Enforcement and Accountability
The regulator has not limited itself to passive reporting. Warning letters, compliance deadlines, and show-cause notices were issued to several cellular mobile operators (CMOs). According to the PTA, most companies took corrective steps following follow-up inspections.
Still, many of the enforcement actions were city-specific, underlining how uneven service quality remains across Pakistan.
The Takeaway
The three-year snapshot shows a telecom sector under pressure: operators face a steady tide of customer dissatisfaction, particularly over mobile data reliability. The PTA has demonstrated high closure rates for complaints, but the recurrence of warnings and notices suggests underlying problems aren’t fully resolved.
For millions of mobile users, especially in smaller cities, the difference between regulatory surveys and real-world service quality remains a daily frustration.
