ISLAMABAD: With reference to the news item which appeared in a section of media that the regulator is not allowing an increase in tariffs of mobile operators, it is clarified that this assertion is incorrect and misleading, said a press release.

The PTA only regulates tariff for the dominant mobile operator in Pakistan i.e. PMCL (Jazz) in line with Significant Market Player (SMP) determination and Jazz-Warid Merger condition with the aim to prevent any anti-competitive practices by the market leader. Whereas, rest of the Cellular Mobile Operators (CMOs) are free to set their tariffs as per their commercial considerations, and the PTA does not intervene in their tariff changes.

During the month of June 2022, the PTA approved all 25 tariff proposals submitted by Jazz, with an average price increase of 14 per cent, keeping in view the increasing operational costs of the company. Other operators have also increased their tariffs, such as: Ufone increased tariffs of its 42 packages by an average of 16.4 per cent in June 2022.

Telecom customers in Pakistan have been enjoying one of the most affordable telecom services in the world due to competitive telecom market and progressive policies and regulations. The Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) Inclusive Internet Index 2022 shows that Pakistan has improved 15 points in the affordability ranking, where it was at 78th position in 2021 and improved to 63rd in 2022, performing better than Bangladesh (64th).

Moreover, due to competition, Pakistan’s cellular mobile industry is a low ARPU market with average ARPU per month of Rs215 in FY2021, which has slightly increased to Rs220 in FY2022 (Jul 21 to Mar 2022).

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022