NA panel irked over poor mobile services, seeks efforts to bring Apple to Pakistan

The National Assembly Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunication expressed grave concerns over the poor quality of mobile and internet services in Pakistan. The committee decided to summon telecom companies to seek answers regarding persistent network issues. Officials from the Engineering Development Board (EDB) informed the committee that efforts were underway to seek Apple's entry into Pakistan's manufacturing market.

Chairman Aminul Haque criticized the quality of mobile services, stating that subscribers often had to dial a number multiple times to make a call. The committee questioned the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) about fines imposed on telecom companies and criticized the regulator for not imposing sufficient penalties. Committee members emphasized that the root causes of poor mobile services were not being addressed and called for the PTA to perform its duties.

The PTA assured the committee that it monitored mobile and internet services and conducted city surveys to assess service quality. They also informed the committee that telcos were given 30 days to improve their service quality, with a maximum fine of Rs350 million. The committee decided to summon telecom companies at its next meeting and directed the PTA to provide details of fines imposed and the amount recovered.