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In a bid to counter rising public frustration over poor service quality, patchy coverage, and widespread digital fraud, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has unveiled a fresh bundle of regulatory initiatives, but industry insiders say the measures arrive “too late, too slowly” for a sector struggling with congestion, outages, and declining revenues.
PTA unveiled a fresh set of initiatives in its latest briefing. These include national roaming, enhanced SIM security, and Voice over WiFi (VoWiFi). The regulator also announced plans to sunset 3G networks. Authorities claim these steps will finally improve the user experience. However, operators and consumers remain sceptical. They argue the regulator is simply playing catch-up after years of inaction.
Key moves include:
- National Roaming: Pushed as a cost-cutting step for the industry, but widely seen as an emergency response to coverage gaps and network deterioration.
- SIM Security: Rolled out to curb fraudulent activities amid rising complaints of identity theft and illegal SIM usage.
- VoWiFi: Pitched as a solution to indoor coverage problems, a longstanding issue the regulator had failed to address.
- 3G Shutdown: An overdue shift to 4G, highlighting how Pakistan still lags behind regional peers in mass-scale advanced network adoption.
- Wi-Fi 6E spectrum allocation (5925–6425 MHz): A technical upgrade applauded by experts, though critics say spectrum reforms remain painfully slow.
- Fixed Wireless Access in AJK: Framed as a solution to difficult terrain, but residents have routinely protested poor connectivity and lack of fibre infrastructure.
- QoS Monitoring: PTA admits ongoing monitoring suffers from “limited resources”, raising questions about how effectively service quality can be enforced.
- Unlawful Content Management: The authority claims to have blocked 49,500 URLs in 2025, a figure that fuels debate over transparency, overreach, and selective enforcement.
Despite the announcements, telecom operators continue to battle soaring operational costs and shrinking profitability. Consumers, meanwhile, report worsening call drops, slow data speeds, and growing distrust in digital safety.
Analysts warn that structural reforms are essential. They also highlight the need for real investment incentives and transparent oversight. Without these foundations, the PTA’s new initiatives may end up as cosmetic fixes. They risk falling short of being meaningful solutions.
