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The government has acknowledged ongoing issues with mobile and internet connectivity across several sectors of Islamabad. Despite years of surveys, directives, and meetings, reliable telecom services remain out of reach for many residents in the federal capital. Officials have now urged users to rely on type-approved signal repeaters and Wi-Fi offloading solutions to improve indoor coverage.
Recent documents reveal that the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) conducted another survey following growing public complaints, particularly from Sector I-14. Residents there continue to experience weak signal strength, frequent call drops, and slow data speeds.
Sectors I-14 and I-16, both newly developed areas with low population density, have seen limited network expansion. Over the past two years, cellular operators have set up nine dedicated sites in these sectors, including two new sites in I-14 and two in I-16. One existing site in I-14 was also upgraded in January 2025.
Persistent Connectivity Gaps and Policy Shortfalls
While PTA’s efforts to activate a disputed site have slightly improved signal coverage, service quality remains poor overall. The regulator’s report notes that I-14 already has seven active cellular sites and access to seven more in nearby sectors. Still, the network suffers from congestion, weak indoor coverage, and inefficient infrastructure use by operators.
Officials admit that telecom companies are hesitant to expand networks in these low-density areas due to poor returns on investment. Industry sources argue that this reflects a deeper policy failure. They say that instead of fixing spectrum allocation issues, promoting infrastructure sharing, and simplifying right-of-way permissions, the authorities have leaned on short-term solutions.
The PTA continues to recommend Wi-Fi offloading and type-approved repeaters as temporary measures to improve indoor signals. However, experts insist that such steps only patch over larger regulatory and infrastructure flaws.
Residents of several Islamabad sectors, including I-14, G-13, and parts of D-12, still face frequent call drops and network outages. Analysts warn that without stronger enforcement of service quality standards and better incentives for telecom investment, Islamabad’s connectivity challenges will persist.
According to an independent survey, data services in these areas are above the minimum speed threshold, with noticeable improvements after new sites became operational. However, the average network downtime for one site exceeded the required 1% limit, prompting PTA to direct the operator to fix the issue.
Despite this, the average data throughput exceeded the minimum 4 Mbps requirement, suggesting that some progress has been made, but not enough to meet growing user expectations.
