Tag: Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA)

  • Muharram 9, 10: Mobile services suspended in multiple areas to ensure safety

    Muharram 9, 10: Mobile services suspended in multiple areas to ensure safety

    On July 28, mobile services were suspended in several parts of Pakistan in observance of Ashura (Muharram 9), as part of precautionary measures taken by the authorities to maintain peace and avoid any potential untoward situations during this significant religious event.

    In Islamabad, the Ministry of Interior requested the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to enforce the suspension of mobile services not only on Muharram 9 but also extend it to Muharram 10 and 11.

    As per the directives, mobile service remained unavailable in sectors G6 and G7 from 1 pm to 10 pm on Muharram 9. Additionally, in Sector 10-I and adjoining areas, the services were blocked from 6 pm to 6 am on the following day.

    On Muharram 11, mobile phone services were suspended in Shah Allah Ditta from 2 am to 7 pm, and in the areas surrounding Noorpur Shahan/Bari Imam, the suspension was in effect from 12 pm to 7 pm.

    In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, sources from the provincial home department informed Geo News that mobile services would remain suspended in 14 districts on Muharram 9 and 10, including Sadar, Pishtakhara, Hassan Ghari, inner city Peshawar, Mardan, Abbottabad, Mansehra, Haripur, Kohat, Hangu, and Bannu. The mobile service suspension continued until 10 pm on these days to ensure a peaceful Ashura observance.

    Similarly, local authorities in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan, decided to suspend mobile services on Muharram 9 and 10 to prevent any potential disturbances during the religious event.

    Additionally, the provincial government of Balochistan had already imposed a ban on pillion riding in the Quetta division from Muharram 1 to Muharram 12 (July 28 to August 8) as an added security measure.

    In Karachi, the PTA had previously announced a partial suspension of mobile services in some areas until Muharram 10 (July 29). However, the suspension was extended to Muharram 8 and was expected to remain in effect on Muharram 9.

    Moreover, in Lahore and Sindh, authorities enforced a ban on pillion riding during the observance of Ashura on July 28.

    It’s important to note that despite the temporary disruption of mobile services, landline and cable net services continued to operate without interruption.

    These measures were taken to ensure the safety and security of the public during the important religious commemoration of Ashura on July 28, 2023.

  • Wikipedia is now working in Pakistan

    Wikipedia is now working in Pakistan

    A two-day-old ban on Wikipedia was reversed by the Pakistani government after outrage on restricting the online encyclopaedia.

    The ban was put in place by Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) due to “unlawful” content.

    The website is now working in Pakistan.

    Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday ordered the PTA to restore the online encyclopedia with “immediate effect”.

    “Blocking the site in its entirety was not a suitable measure to restrict access to some objectionable content,” a statement issued by the PM’s office read.
    “The unintended consequences of this blanket ban, therefore, outweigh its benefits,” it added.

    PTA blocked Wikipedia in the country last week for not removing sacrilegious content from the website.

  • Pakistan has now 118.57 million 3G, 4G users

    Pakistan has now 118.57 million 3G, 4G users

    According to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), the country’s 3G and 4G user base climbed by 3.07 million from 115.75 million at the end of June 2022 to 118.57 million at the end of July 2022.

    By the end of July 2022, Pakistan had 195.26 million cellular users, up from 194.58 million at the end of June 2022.

    Cellular mobile’s teledensity increased from 88.34 per cent at the end of June to 88.61 per cent at the end of July. By the end of July 2022, the overall teledensity had increased from 89.53 per cent to 89.8 per cent, according to Brecorder.

    By the end of June 2022, the Monthly Next Generation Mobile Service (NGMS) penetration was 52.55 per cent; by July 2022, it was 53.8 per cent.

    Jazz’s overall 3G user count decreased by 0.109 million from 5.947 million at the end of June to 5.838 million at the end of July. By the end of July 2022, there will be 39.296 million Jazz 4G users, up from 38.039 million at the end of June.

    While the number of Zong 4G customers climbed from 28.906 million at the end of June to 29.695 million at the end of July, the number of 3G subscribers fell from 3.197 million at the end of June to 3.108 million.

    While the number of Telenor 4G customers climbed from 21.831 million at the end of June to 22.401 million at the end of July, the company’s 3G subscribers declined from 3.542 million at the end of June to 3.480 million at the end of July.

    By the end of July, there were 3.468 million Ufone 3G users, down from 3.509 million at the end of June. Ufone’s 4G user base climbed by 0.49 million over the reviewed period, from 9.419 million at the end of June to 9.909 million at the end of July.

    As of July 2022, the PTA had received 14030 complaints from customers of various telecom providers, including cellular operators, PTCL, LDIs, WLL operators, and ISPs. According to the PTA, 13709 complaints, or 97 per cent of them, were successfully resolved.

    A sizable portion of the total telecom subscriber base is made up of cellular mobile subscribers.

    The most complaints are therefore related to this group. By July, there had been 13,342 complaints made against CMOs, of which 13,174 (98 per cent) had been resolved.

    Data from the PTA shows that Jazz received 5,752 complaints, Telenor received 2450, Zong received 3827, and Ufone received 1,287.

    Additionally, the PTA received 140 complaints about basic telephone, of which 86 were resolved in July 2022. In addition, 438 of the 533 complaints made against ISPs were resolved.

  • PTA temporarily unblocks non-compliant smartphones

    PTA temporarily unblocks non-compliant smartphones

    A number of Pakistani users have regained cellular connectivity on smartphones that are not PTA compliant. This led many customers and sellers to believe that the PTA had unblocked all non-PTA-approved phones.

    Unfortunately, all of the reports claiming that the PTA has unblocked non-tax compliant phones are false as the majority of imported phones with unpaid taxes, are still blocked by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and cannot work with any cellular networks in the country.

    They can, however, continue to use Wi-Fi connections like before. Some people with unapproved phones had their phones unblocked at random in recent weeks, allowing them to reconnect to cellular networks.

    The telecommunications authority has made clear that it has unblocked an undefined number of non-approved phones solely to motivate people to pay taxes and have their phones properly unblocked.

    According to PTA spokesperson Khurram Ali Mehran, this was just a persuasive drill to get people to authenticate their phones and pay taxes, no matter how expensive they are.

    He stated that the PTA chose to unblock the phones at random and that they will all be blocked again within two months.

  • Rise in mobile phones import by 63%: PTA

    The country has witnessed a 63% increase in the import of mobile devices via legal channels for the year 2018-19, according to Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).

    Since the implementation of the Device Identification Registration and Blocking System (DIRBS), around 17.2 million devices were imported in 2018 while 28.02 million were imported in 2019.

    This year Pakistan has imported around 32.83 million devices so far, as per PTA’s press release.

    PTA implemented DIRBS System in December 2018, with the aim to curtail counterfeit mobile phone usage, discourage mobile phone theft and protect consumer interest. Through DIRBS, PTA has identified and blocked 24.3 Million fake replica mobile devices and 657,645 IMEIs that were duplicated.

    The implementation of DIRBS has also been the catalyst for local mobile devices manufacturing, leading to the establishment of 29 local assembly facilities. Since 2019, over 20 million devices have produced in these facilities.

    Moreover, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has collected a total of Rs90 billion in customs duties on formal imports during January 2010-November 2020. This is Rs68 billion more custom duties as compared to custom duties collected in 2018. i.e. Rs22 billion.

    DIRBS has enabled FBR to collect Rs9bn revenue under the individual category from January 2019 to Dec 3, 2020. The PTA said it was an untapped area and no revenue was being collected in this category before the implementation of DIRBS.