PTA data reveals ‘Number of cellular subscribers, 3G/4G users declines in Nov’

ISLAMABAD: The number of cellular subscribers, 3G/4G users as well as penetration in Pakistan declined in November 2024, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA)’s data revealed.

The number of cellular subscribers decreased from 193.309 million by end of October 2024 to 193.238 million by end of November.

Further, the number of 3G and 4G users in Pakistan also decreased from 139.123 million by end October 2024 to 139.037 million by end November.

Aug-Sep: number of cellular subscribers rises to 193.346m

The Monthly Next Generation Mobile Service (NGMS) penetration has declined from 57.02 percent by end-October 2024 to 56.9 percent by end-November. Total teledensity - the number of connections for every hundred individuals in the country, decreased from 80.3 percent by end-October to 80.1 percent by end-November.

Jazz’s total count for 3G users declined from 2.087 million by the end of October to 1.549 million by the end of November.

Jazz 4G users increased from 49.861 million by end October to 50.191 million by end November.

Zong 3G subscribers decreased from 1.893 million by end October to 1.867 million by end November while the number of 4G users increased from 38.125 million by end October to 38.300 million by end November.

Telenor 3G subscribers decreased from 1.434 million by end October to 1.388 million by end November while the number of 4G users of Telenor decreased from 25.478 million by end October to 25.428 million by end November.

Ufone 3G users stood at 2.047 million by end November compared to 2.100 million by end October. The number of 4G users of Ufone increased from 16.433 million by end October to 16.473 million by end October.

The PTA received 15,861 complaints from telecom consumers against different telecom operators and cellular operators in November 2024, out of which, 15,748 (99 percent) were resolved.

Official data revealed that the complaints were received against various telecom operators, including Cellular Mobile Operators (CMOs), Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), Long-Distance International (LDI) operators, Wireless Local Loop (WLL) operators, and Internet Service Providers (ISPs), during November.

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 November stood at 15375, out of which, 15291 (99.5 percent) were addressed.

According to the PTA data, 6271 complaints were received against Jazz, out of which, 6262 (99.9 percent) were resolved. Further, 3084 complaints against Telenor were received, out of which, 3034 (98.4 percent) were resolved. Likewise, 4087 complaints were received against Zong, out of which, 4076 (99.7 percent) were addressed. A total of 1915 complaints were received against Ufone, out of which 1901 (99.3 percent) were resolved.

The PTA also received 120 complaints against basic telephony, out of which, 117 were addressed during November with a resolution rate of 97.5 percent. Furthermore, 352 complaints were received against ISPs, of which, 326 (92.6 percent) were addressed.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024