Tag: PTA

  • PTA limits access to Wikipedia for 48 hours

    The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has said that it has restricted access to Wikipedia for Pakistanis for 48 hours.

    In a series of tweets from its official Twitter account, PTA said that the free online encyclopedia had “sacrilegious” content, despite being asked by PTA to remove it.

    The restoration of its services will only be considered if they block or remove unlawful content. However, PTA did not specify which contents it deemed unlawful.

    The authority also hinted that Wikipedia may face a permanent block in Pakistan if the platform does not remove or block the content as directed by PTA.

  • ‘My wife was sobbing uncontrollably’: Azam Swati told Human Rights Cells of SC

    ‘My wife was sobbing uncontrollably’: Azam Swati told Human Rights Cells of SC

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator Azam Swati has submitted an application to the Human Rights Cell of the Supreme Court (SC), requesting to “safeguard sanctity, honour, privacy and respect of the Senator after the leak of him and his wife’s private recorded video.”

    In the petition, it is stated that the “applicant brought the honorable court’s attention towards this most inhuman and unethical incident.”

    Swati narrated the incident including details of how he got to know about the video when an unknown number sent the clip to his wife. He said that the “main part of the video is genuine and it was taken when the couple was staying in Quetta.”

    After watching the video, Swati said, “My wife called me after watching, remembering and confirming the details of the video. She was sobbing uncontrollably and was hardly able to utter any words.”

    Moreover, the senator named Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Assistant Director Ayaz, D.G, FIA, DGC Faisal Naseer and Brig. Fahim and others “who are involved in committing the heinous crime, violation of human rights, privacy and dignity of man.”

    He said that the people who were involved in his earlier custodial torture had sent this private video to his wife and son to blackmail him.

    ‘What happened to you is very tragic’: CJP Bandial to Azam Swati

    On November 8, during the hearing of PTI chief Imran Khan’s contempt of court case in SC, when Swati appeared before the court, Chief Justice (CJ) Umar Ata Bandial spoke to him that “What happened to you is very tragic”.

    The Chief Justice corrected Swati that he had never stayed in the rest house of the SC, to which Azam Swati replied, “Yes, you are right, I had stayed in Quetta Federal Lodge.”

    “Your case is ongoing in Human Rights Cell. The court is careful in this matter, the case will be seen according to the law,” said the CJP.

    Swati asked whether he can show the alleged video to anyone other than the judges. To this, the CJ directed Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to remove the alleged video of the senator To this, the PTI leader said that “The video that will be removed may not be the one that was sent to me”.

    The same day Swati said that he will show the recorded private video of him and his wife to the SC and will tell the court which clips of the video are fabricated and which are real.

    Talking to media outside of the apex court, Azam dismissed the FIA assessment of the video as being “fake and edited”.

    “Why did we [me and my wife] say that the recorded video is of Quetta,” the senator added.

    Moreover, the senator appealed to CJ for justice. He also urged the Chairman of the Senate, Sadiq Sanjrani, to follow the constitution.

    Prior to this, Swati had alleged that the video was recorded when he and his wife had visited Quetta where he stayed at the Supreme Court Judicial Lodges. According to Swati, Chairman Sanjrani had arranged his stay. However, the SC issued a clarification stating that Senator Azam Swati “Never used/stayed in Supreme Court Judges Rest House at Quetta”, adding that according to the Balochistan Special Branch, Swati stayed at the Balochistan Judicial Academy (Judicial Complex Quetta), which is not under the SC’s control.

    Chairman Sanjrani had also issued a statement where he condemned the video and also said that he provided Swati and his wife with the best and safest accommodation as guests in Quetta.

    Pointing fingers towards FIA’s Assistant Director Ayaz Khan, the senator said General Headquarters (GHQ) should summon him [Ayaz] so that he can reveal the truth “that on whose orders he arrested me and raided my house.”

    Earlier, Chairman Sanjrani formed a 14-member special committee to probe the alleged “obscene video” of Swati.

    On November 5, Swati broke into tears during a press conference, alleging that he and his wife were secretly recorded in a room and he was informed about it by his daughter.

  • iPhone 14 Pro Max 1TB available for pre-orders for nearly Rs7 lac

    iPhone 14 Pro Max 1TB available for pre-orders for nearly Rs7 lac

    All of the iPhone 14 models are up for pre-order at Telemart, and the prices are the highest we’ve ever heard for a phone.

    The 1TB iPhone 14 Pro Max, which retails for a stunning Rs689,999, is currently the most expensive mobile offered in Pakistan. For that amount, you could purchase several brand-new motorcycles or even a pre-owned Suzuki Mehran.

    The price of the entry-level iPhone 14 with 128GB of storage (the lowest model) is astronomical at Rs419,999.

    These phones won’t be delivered to you until at least October because, as was already indicated, they are only available for pre-order at this time.

    The spike in import duties, which also affected laptops, graphics cards, and other electronics in addition to cellphones, is to blame for the price increase. As a result, the starting price for the iPhone 14 Plus is Rs459,999, the starting price for the iPhone 14 Pro is Rs489,999, and the price for the Pro Max model is Rs529,999.

    The price of the ‘cheapest’ iPhone 14 (base model) costs even more than the initial price of Rs370,000 for the iPhone 13 Pro Max.

  • 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.

  • Here’s why the internet was down in Pakistan last night

    Here’s why the internet was down in Pakistan last night

    The internet services in Pakistan suffered another disruption on Monday night. Services of almost all of the major Internet Service Providers (ISPs) were disrupted. Services were suspended in Rawalpindi, Islamabad and Lahore around 11:10pm and remained suspended until 1:20am.

    “A nation-scale internet disruption has been registered in Pakistan; the incident affects multiple providers including PTCL, Nayatel and StormFiber with real-time network data showing connectivity at 38% of an ordinary level,” NetBlocks said in a tweet.

    Why was the internet down?

    Sources in PTCL said the internet fibre cables suffered damage due to heavy rains in Sukkur areas. “They said rainwater had entered the PTCL exchange causing electricity to short-circuit. The company expects the repair work to be completed by Tuesday morning,” reports Dawn.

    This was the second major disruption of internet services in less than a week. Last week, internet services were affected on Friday (August 19).

  • Meta, PTA launch educational series ‘Chai Chats’ to promote digital literacy

    Meta, PTA launch educational series ‘Chai Chats’ to promote digital literacy

    In order to raise awareness of digital literacy and social cohesion among young Facebook users in Pakistan, Meta has created the educational series “Chai Chats” in partnership with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).

    According to DAWN, the series follows a close-knit group of college friends who face challenging online situations and overcome them with grace, friendship, and humour. Its goal is to encourage and persuade young people to adopt positive and responsible online behaviour.

    Through the web series and local community training, the programme hopes to reach millions of young Pakistanis online as well as 180 secondary school teachers and more than 1,000 secondary school students. It will also train educators in at-risk communities to address these issues with at-risk communities.

    The focus of the webisode series “Chai Chats” focuses on the daily online activities of five university buddies and how they support one another in navigating their online and offline lives while also taking into account their varied socio-cultural and behavioural tendencies.

    By connecting with the young audiences, the characters and their story should function as positive role models.

    Chairman PTA Maj. Gen (R) Amir Azeem Bajwa praised Meta’s efforts in a statement about the programme. “This effort will improve Pakistani youth’s capacity to utilise social media platforms in a beneficial, productive, and legal manner for both individual and group well-being.

    Through better digital experiences, Meta has been at the forefront of fostering digital literacy.

    The government of Pakistan is dedicated to using digital technology to hasten socio-economic development across the country, and I believe that this initiative will prove to be a significant first step in that direction, he continued.

    “The programme furthers Meta’s long-term commitment to developing digital literacy in Pakistan and assisting all users to harness the benefits of technology innovation for their growth and socioeconomic success,” stated Ruici Tio, Policy Program Manager, APAC- Meta.

    Its objective, according to him, was to improve the digital and critical thinking abilities of over 1,000 children and 180 teachers in these areas.

  • Pakistani mobile manufacturing businesses are laying off workers due to economic challenges

    Pakistani mobile manufacturing businesses are laying off workers due to economic challenges

    There has been significant upheaval in the economy as a result of the new tax structure, rising inflation, and the power shortage.

    The Samsung mobile factory, which is owned by Lucky Motors, experienced a similar situation when it had to lay off a number of employees because Pakistan was short on raw materials.

    In addition to Samsung, there have also been reports of firing close to 1,000 workers at the Vivo mobile factory.

    Lucky Motor Corporation was permitted by PTA to manufacture Samsung mobile devices in August 2021, which sounded like a great news in terms of job creation and GDP contribution, among other things.

    In various economic sectors, each economic measure can have numerous impacts. As per economic theory, a nation’s high rate of inflation discourages investment since it makes it less certain that those investments will be lucrative. Humongous unemployment is being caused by this, along with an import ban and a recently implemented “super tax” in Pakistan.

    Additionally, businesses like Careem and Airlift recently stopped operating in some sectors and let go of a number of employees.

    In the year 2020, Careem fired 31 per cent of its workforce due to a pandemic. A number of the staff members at SVWL, Airlift, and Careem Food were let go in 2022. limited their operations or nearly shut down.

  • 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.

  • Number of 3G, 4G users in Pakistan increases to 113.89 million

    Number of 3G, 4G users in Pakistan increases to 113.89 million

    The latest data from Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) reveals that the number of 3G and 4G users grew by 1.14 million from 112.75 million in April 2022 to 113.89 million in May 2022.

    Pakistan’s cellular subscriber base grew by 0.25 million to 193 million by the end of May 2022, up from 192.75 million at the end of April, according to Brecorder.

    By the end of May, cellular mobile teledensity had risen from 87.6 per cent to 87.67 per cent. By the end of May, the total teledensity had risen to 88.81 per cent, up from 88.74 per cent in April.

    The monthly penetration of Next Generation Mobile Services (NGMS) at the end of April had risen to 51.73 per cent, up from 51.24 per cent.

    Network providers

    The total number of 3G users on Jazz fell from 6.222 million at the end of April to 6.068 million at the end of May, a reduction of 0.154 million. By the end of May, the number of Jazz 4G users had risen from 36.567 million to 37.168 million.

    Zong 3G subscribers fell from 3.357 million at the end of April to 3.272 million at the end of May, while 4G users grew from 27.952 million at the end of April to 28.317 million at the end of May.

    Telenor 3G subscribers fell from 3.696 million at the end of April to 3.613 million at the end of May, whereas Telenor 4G users enhanced from 21.216 million at the end of April to 21.494 million at the end of May.

    By the end of May, there were 3.576 million Ufone 3G users, up from 3.673 million at the end of April. Ufone’s 4G users increased from 8.761 million at the end of April to 9.052 million at the end of May, a 0.291 million increase over the previous month.