The government has ruled out introducing additional financial penalties for telecom operators over complaints of weak mobile signals, poor internet quality and service disruptions in Bannu and other underserved areas.
Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja told the National Assembly that telecom companies charge customers according to their advertised tariffs while remaining responsible for meeting the Quality of Service (QoS) standards set under their licences.
The matter was raised by MNA Nasim Ali Shah, who questioned whether operators such as Jazz, Ufone and Zong were charging customers full rates despite inadequate network coverage and poor data services. He also asked about penalties imposed on telecom companies and whether tougher measures were being considered to improve service quality.
The minister said the government does not currently plan to create a separate penalty regime. She explained that the existing legal and regulatory framework already gives the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) powers to take action against operators that fail to meet their obligations.
PTA can issue warnings and Show Cause Notices and impose financial penalties when telecom companies breach licensing or QoS requirements.
The government has also tightened telecom requirements through the latest spectrum auction and revised Next Generation Mobile Services (NGMS) licence conditions. These include stronger QoS benchmarks and additional obligations for 4G and 5G network expansion.
Over the past four years, PTA has carried out more than 500 QoS surveys covering urban and rural locations, highways, motorways and railway routes. It also conducted more than 200 surveys in response to consumer complaints.
Based on these checks, PTA issued 20 warning letters and 86 Show Cause Notices to telecom operators and imposed cumulative financial penalties of Rs. 3.41 billion.
The minister also noted that some operators provide region-specific or location-based packages at lower prices than nationwide plans, depending on commercial considerations and local market conditions.
