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

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunication on Thursday expressed serious concern over the poor quality of mobile and internet services and decided to summon telecom companies (telcos) to seek direct answers over persistent network problems. The committee was also informed by an official of the Engineering Development Board (EDB) that efforts were underway to seek tech giant Apple’s entry into Pakistan’s manufacturing market. In its proceedings, the committee expressed concerns over the quality of mobile services, with chairman Aminul Haque remarking that subscribers had to dial a number three times just to make a call. “The quality of mobile and internet services is deteriorating day by day after the spectrum auction instead of any improvement,” the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) lawmaker said.

The chairman then questioned the PTA about the fines imposed during the last six months, noting that the regulator issued show-cause notices and warning letters, but did not impose sufficient fines on telecom companies. Committee members Zulfiqar Ali Bhatti, Ahmad Ateeq Anwar, Sadiq Memon and Dr Mahesh Kumar stressed that the root causes of poor mobile service were not being addressed and criticised the PTA for repeatedly giving the same response without improving the situation. Committee member Shazia Fareed recalled she had received virtually no mobile signals during her stay at Islamabad’s Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims). The committee made it clear that the PTA should perform its duties and inform the parliament if there was any obstacle preventing it from taking action. Members proposed summoning representatives of telcos and seeking explanations from them directly. Meanwhile, PTA officials…