MPs decry poor phone, internet connectivity

The National Assembly Standing Committee on Information Technology on Thursday expressed serious concern over poor mobile and internet services across the country and summoned representatives of major telecom companies to its next meeting. Committee Chairman Syed Amin-ul-Haq directed the Ministry of IT and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) officials to play an effective role in improving mobile services, stressing that the issue of substandard connectivity across the country needed to be addressed urgently. The committee meeting was held at Parliament House under the chairmanship of MNA Syed Amin-ul-Haq. During a discussion on poor mobile services and internet connectivity nationwide, the chairman said improving the quality of mobile services was essential, adding that users often had to make a call three times before it connected. PTA officials acknowledged that there were problems with the quality of internet and mobile services across the country. They told the committee that four show-cause notices had been issued to telecom companies during the past six months, while 48 show-cause notices and 22 warning letters had been issued to telecom companies over the past several years. Fines totalling Rs68.9 million had also been imposed on the companies. The PTA officials said the authority could impose a maximum fine of Rs350 million on a telecom company.