Telenor Faces PTA’s Regulatory Heat for Poor Network Quality

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has issued an enforcement order against Telenor Pakistan (Pvt.) Limited due to its failure to meet the quality of service (QoS) standards as mandated in its licenses. The notice, issued on October 1st, 2024, led to a hearing on December 10th, 2024, at PTA Headquarters in Islamabad.

The core issue revolves around Telenor’s inability to consistently achieve the QoS benchmarks stipulated in its licenses, including NGMS-02/WLL&M/PTA/2014, NGMS-05/WLL&M /PTA/ 2016, and MCT/01/Wireless/PTA/2021. These licenses authorize Telenor to provide cellular mobile services across Pakistan.

Following a re-verification survey, the PTA acknowledged a significant improvement in Telenor’s service quality in Hyderabad and Quetta. Considering these improvements and Telenor’s request for more time to deploy an additional site in Swabi, the Authority has taken a lenient approach.

The PTA has directed Telenor to deploy the new site in Swabi by June 30th, 2025, and subsequently submit a compliance report. Post the deadline, the PTA will conduct another on-ground survey to assess Telenor’s adherence to the licensed Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Failure to meet these standards will result in further regulatory action.

The enforcement order, dated April 29th, 2025, underscores the PTA’s commitment to ensuring that cellular service providers like Telenor maintain the required quality of service for consumers in Pakistan. The decision was made by the panel comprising Chairman Maj. Gen. (retd) Hafeez UR Rehman (R), Member (Compliance and Enforcement), Dr. Khawar Siddique Khokhar, and Member (Finance), Mr. Muhammad Naveed.