PTA striving to provide best quality services

FAISALABAD: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority’s Zonal Director Wednesday said Pakistan is among top five countries using mobile phones and the PTA is making its optimum best to provide best quality services being regulator of the telecom sector.

Addressing the Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FCCI) members, PTA Zonal Director Farooq said most of the consumers are using illegal and substandard GSM amplifiers to get improved quality of signals in their basements and deep areas.

“These amplifiers are the main cause of poor services to other consumers connected with the same tower”, he maintained and said a survey was conducted to identify the installation of substandard amplifiers.

He said it is an illegal act but PTA is trying to resolve the issues amicably. He further said that PTA is also compiling a list of quality amplifiers which create minimum distortion in mobile signals. “This list will be issued within a period of one or two months and a request will be made to the consumers to replace the old and substandard amplifiers with quality amplifier”, he said. He disclosed that some mobile companies are also offering special packages for their corporate clients to provide them improved signals in a particular area. He said the PTA is also regularly conducting surveys to identify the quality of signals and in case of poor signal strength show cause notices are also issued to the concerned mobile companies.

Earlier, FCCI president Rana Sikandar Azam said provision of quality service to the mobile users is the collective responsibility of the concerned mobile company and PTA while there is a well defined legal system to proceed against the violators. He said the government should use its power to check the illegal import of substandard amplifiers, however legal action could also be initiated against its users under the prevailing law.

Sikandar said the people are forced to install additional gadgets as they have continuous complaints of poor connectivity and repeated call drops. He suggested that being regulator PTA must keep an eye on the weaknesses of the mobile companies. Similarly PTA should also launch a vigorous awareness campaign about the rights of the consumers. Later, a question- answer session was also held in which Engineer Babar Shahzad, Dr Sajjad Arshad, Inaam Afzal Khan, Dr Ijaz Nisar, Shahid Aslam and Rana Fiaz Ahmed participated while Ashfaq Malik, IT officer of the PTA responded to their questions and queries.

YOUM-E-ISTEHSAL OBSERVED: Like other parts of the country Youm-e-Istehsal was observed in Faisalabad district against Indian aggression in Indian-held Kashmir (IHK). Rallies were held and participants raised slogans against the Indian authorities over imposing curfew in the IHK.