ISLAMABAD: Amid poor telecom services in Pakistan, cellular mobile operators (CMOs) failed to meet most of the key performance indicators (KPIs) set in their licenses and applicable regulations regarding voice services, webpage loading, and latency, according to an independent Quality of Service (QoS) survey conducted by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).
Official sources told TechJuice that since the inception of these surveys, CMOs have yet to meet all KPIs. While the PTA previously issued showcase notices and later imposed penalties, the authority has not taken any such action since August 2023, despite poor telecom services in Pakistan being reflected in its own assessments. When asked about the reason for not enforcing penalties, a senior PTA official confirmed that they do not want to put additional pressure on cellular mobile operators.
The PTA conducted an independent Quality of Service (QoS) survey across 17 cities during the fourth quarter of 2024. The performance of CMOs was assessed in accordance with the Cellular Mobile Network QoS Regulations 2021. The survey included approximately 46,000 voice calls and SMS tests, along with 0.33 million samples to measure mobile broadband performance. Over the course of 64 days, a total of 2,270 kilometers were covered.
The survey evaluated voice service quality, mobile broadband—including throughput, network latency, and webpage loading time—as well as short messaging service (SMS). Network latency, though not a traditional KPI, is a critical metric for mobile broadband performance, as it directly impacts user experience. During the survey, latency was measured by calculating the ping between different websites and third-party test servers. However, all four operators were found to be non-compliant in most cases.
Webpage loading time, an important Quality of Experience (QoE) metric, was also assessed for various national and international websites. No single operator was fully compliant in all surveyed areas, meeting the KPI only partially.
Voice service quality was tested against five key QoS KPIs—Network Accessibility, Call Setup Success Rate, Call Setup Time, Call Completion Rate, and Mean Opinion Score. However, these KPIs were only partially met.
The findings underscore the persistent challenges in Pakistan’s telecom sector, highlighting the need for improved service delivery and stricter regulatory enforcement.