More than 9,200 cases of theft and vandalism involving telecom infrastructure were reported across Pakistan over the past 11 months, affecting nearly 16 percent of the country’s cellular sites.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has now directed all mobile operators to immediately report such incidents and ensure that First Information Reports (FIRs) are registered without delay.
The operators have also been told to keep following up with law enforcement agencies until the cases are resolved.
The directives were issued after a parliamentary subcommittee examined internet outages and complaints about diesel theft from telecom towers in different parts of the country.
The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication has asked the PTA and Ministry of Law and Justice to work on the issue. The PTA has also started discussions with telecom operators and sought their proposals for the government.
Power supply problems at telecom sites have also been taken up with the Power Division, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) and electricity distribution companies.
A committee led by the Secretary of IT and Telecommunication will examine measures including dedicated and express feeders, smart grids, smart transformers and industrial electricity tariffs to reduce load shedding and keep telecom towers operational.
