Number of cellular subscribers declines to 190.44m by end-Aug: PTA

ISLAMABAD: The number of cellular subscribers in Pakistan decreased from 190.55 million by end July to 190.44 million by end August 2023, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) data revealed.

The cellular teledensity has declined from 80.04 percent by end July to 79.87 percent by end August 2023. Total teledensity decreased from 81.12 percent by end July 2023 to 80.95 percent by end August.

The number of 3G and 4G users in Pakistan increased by 0.85 million 125.76 million by end July to 126.61 million by end August 2023.

The Monthly Next Generation Mobile Service (NGMS) penetration increased from 52.83 percent by end July 2023 to 53.1 percent by end August.

Jazz’s total count for 3G users declined from 4.300 million by end July to 4.148 million by end August registering a decrease of 0.152 million. Jazz 4G users increased from 42.769 million by end July to 43.010 million by end August.

Zong 3G subscribers decreased from 2.479 million by end July to 2.425 million by end August, while the number of 4G users increased from 32.927 million by end July to 33.269 million by end August.

Telenor 3G subscribers decreased 2.761 million by end July to 2.720 million by end August while the number of 4G users of Telenor increased from 23.150 million by end July to 23.260 million by end August.

Ufone 3G users stood at 2.676 million by end August compared to 2.691 million by end July. The number of 4G users of Ufone increased from 13.206 million by end July to 13.616 million by end August registering a 0.41 million increase during the period under review.

The PTA received 14,223 complaints from telecom consumers against different telecom operators and cellular operators in August 2023, out of which, 14,073 (98.9 percent) were resolved.

Official data revealed that the complaints were received against various telecom operators, including cellular mobile operators (CMOs), Pakistan Telecommunica-tions Company Limited (PTCL), long-distance international (LDI) operators, wireless local loop (WLL) operators, and internet service providers (ISPs), during August.

Cellular mobile subscribers constitute a major part of the overall telecom subscriber base. Therefore, the maximum number of complaints belongs to this segment. The total number of complaints against CMOs by August stood at 13,567, out of which, 13,445 (99.1 percent) were addressed.

According to the PTA data, 6,413 complaints were received against Jazz, out of which, 6,353 (99.1 percent) were resolved. Further, 2,370 complaints against Telenor were received, out of which, 2,351 (99.2 percent) were resolved. Likewise, 3,227 complaints were received against Zong, out of which, 3,213 (99.6 percent) were addressed. A total of 1,534 complaints were received against Ufone, out of which 1,505 (98.1 percent) were resolved.

The PTA also received 199 complaints against basic telephony, out of which, 188 were addressed during August, for a resolution rate of 84.5 percent. Furthermore, 453 complaints were received against ISPs, of which, 436 (96.2 percent) were addressed.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023