PTA fails to conduct quality survey

KARACHI – Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has failed to conduct its Quality of Service (QoS) survey last year, and it has yet to conduct any such effort this year. It has been learnt that PTA has failed to commence its ninth QoS survey for mobile operators which was supposedly due in November, last year. The authority faced litigation by the few mobile operators over issuing show cause notices to them in the light of their poor quality of service during the eighth QoS survey.
It seems that the authority is being prevented from launching a new annual survey, while it has also been proved an exercise of limited utility, sources said. Sources opined that the authority seemingly lacks the required tools to conduct the survey and this would be a major cause for its apparent inaction. This view is given credence by the fact that the authority recently aired an advertisement for the requirement of some equipment, sources pointed out.
Any indication of poor performance on the part of the cellular companies would only emerge in the next survey of the authority, sources stressed. It is pertinent to mention that the petition of Telenor over penalty by the authority on its poor service found in the eighth QoS survey had been disposed off in favor of PTA by the court with the direction to PTA to act upon the matter in light of the prevailing law i.e. Pakistan Telecommunication Re-Organisation Act-1996 and license conditions.
When contacted, PTA Chairman Dr. Mohammad Yaseen said the body has now commenced short surveys on the basis of the authorities’ demands and requirements. Earlier, PTA Public Relations Department Assistant Director Zaib-Un-Nisa Gharshin responded to Pakistan Today was evasive over the issue of the lack of a new survey and stated that monitoring is an ongoing activity which continues throughout the year. This can be in response to a complaint, reports or when ever pertinent, to ensure that the quality of service is maintained throughout the year.
It is also important to note that as per regulations, PTA is supposed to conduct Quality of Service Surveys for telecom services in the country, at least once a year. In the last survey, results indicated that all cellular operators failed to perform to desired levels.