The National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunication met today on July 14, 2026. Syed Amin-ul-Haque chaired the session. During the meeting, committee members expressed severe concerns over the deteriorating quality of mobile services across the country.
NA Standing Committee Members Lash Out at Mobile Operators
Committee members did not hold back their anger regarding the current state of telecom services. Mahesh Kumar, a long-serving committee member, stated that he has been on the IT committee for several years. However, he is now completely tired of talking about the Quality of Service (QoS). Kumar specifically targeted Ufone, declaring that its service in Karachi is completely substandard.
Sadiq Memon, another committee member, agreed with this assessment. He pointed out that mobile services have become highly substandard nowadays. Furthermore, Memon highlighted that even major cities like Islamabad and Karachi are facing extremely poor mobile call quality.
The committee also voiced serious concerns about the upcoming corporate consolidation. One member warned that the entity emerging from the Telenor and Ufone merger will deliver even worse services to consumers.
Consequently, the Committee Chairman labeled Ufone’s service as the worst of all. He directed the committee to summon PTCL and Ufone officials to the next meeting to demand answers for their substandard service. Additionally, other committee members proposed summoning all three mobile operators to the meeting to address the poor quality of service.
PTA & Ministry Admit Failure but Promise 5G Solutions
In response to the complaints, the Chairman of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) briefed the standing committee. He explained a major shift in how the regulator monitors services. Previously, the PTA conducted joint quality-of-service surveys alongside the telecom operators. Now, the PTA independently surveys the Quality of Service at the district level.
Importantly, the PTA Chairman did not deny the issues. He explicitly admitted that the authority is not claiming that the Quality of Service has improved. However, he argued that service quality will naturally get better over time as the 5G rollout progresses.
Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunication, Shaza Fatima, also briefed the committee. She defended the sector by explaining that data usage in Pakistan has surged over the last few years. Consequently, the massive demand has strained networks. She noted that the phase of 5G rollout has now begun following the 5G spectrum auction.
Structural Bottlenecks, Low Revenues & Legislative Delays
Federal IT Minister Shaza Fatima detailed the severe economic and structural hurdles holding the telecom sector back. She explained that the country’s entire telecom infrastructure is imported from abroad. Because of this import dependency, the sector has suffered from a lack of investment.
Furthermore, she highlighted a surprising data point: an average internet user in Pakistan only spends Rs. 285 per month. Despite this low spending, internet usage has grown significantly, and 97% of Pakistani citizens now use broadband internet.
The IT Minister also defended the government’s efforts to increase network capacity. She noted that previously, the entire country of Pakistan was running on a limited 274 MHz spectrum. To fix this bottleneck, the government successfully auctioned an additional 480 MHz of spectrum in March.
Regarding the legislative push, Shaza Fatima addressed critics who questioned why the government was rushing the Telecom Amendment Bill. She explained that faster legislation is essential because it leads to a faster network rollout. Specifically, she noted that approving the Telecom Amendment Bill will drastically improve the Right of Way (RoW) for infrastructure deployment.
While she agreed that the internet needs immediate improvement, she highlighted one major external factor. According to the Minister, a massive reason behind the terrible mobile service quality is the ongoing electricity load-shedding across the country.
