Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) conducted an independent Quality of Service (QoS) survey in 17 cities across Sindh, Punjab, Balochistan, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during the fourth quarter of 2024.
According to a news release, this survey was conducted to evaluate the performance and quality of services offered by Cellular Mobile Operators (CMOs) to their customers. The survey routes were carefully selected to include main roads, service roads, and residential areas.
Over 64 days, approximately 2,270 kilometres were travelled per CMO to maximize coverage.
Using state-of-the-art automated QoS monitoring tools, 330,000 tests were conducted to assess mobile broadband performance, while 46,000 voice and SMS samples were tested. Mobile devices were set to technology auto-detect mode to evaluate voice calls, SMS, and data sessions against the standards set in NGMS licenses and QoS Regulations 2021.
Based on compliance with KPIs, CMOs were ranked on mobile network coverage, voice services, and broadband speeds. Operators utilizing advanced technologies, such as LTE Carrier Aggregation and Voice over LTE, demonstrated superior service quality.
However, certain voice KPIs fell below-licensed thresholds in specific areas. Operators have been directed to take corrective actions to improve service standards.
