ISLAMABAD: The number of 3G and 4G users in Pakistan increased by 1.35 million from 122.81 million by end January 2023 to 124.16 million by end February, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) data revealed.

The number of cellular subscribers in Pakistan increased from 192.78 million by end January 2023 to 193.85 million by end February. The Monthly Next Generation Mobile Service (NGMS) penetration increased from 54.91 per cent by end January to 55.42 million by end February.

The broadband penetration increased from 56.31 per cent by end January to 56.83 per cent by end February. The cellular teledensity increased from 86.16 per cent by end January to 86.53 per cent by end February. Total teledensity increased from 87.36 per cent by end January to 87.69 per cent by end February.

Jazz’s total count for 3G users declined from 4.816 million by end January to 4.736 million by end February registering a decrease of 0.08 million. Jazz 4G users jumped from 41.891 million by end January to 42.544 million by end February.

Zong 3G subscribers decreased from 2.685 million by end January to 2.661 million by end February, while the number of 4G users increased from 31.728 million by end January to 32.096 million by end February.

Telenor 3G subscribers decreased from 3.005 million by end January to 2.980 million by end February while the number of 4G users of Telenor increased from 22.694 million by end January to 22.932 million by end February.

Ufone 3G users stood at 2.844 million by end February compared to 2.878 million by end January. The number of 4G users of Ufone increased from 11.660 million by end January to 11.925 million by end February, registering a 0.265 million increase during the period under review.

The PTA received 16,195 complaints from telecom consumers against different telecom operators and cellular operators in February 2023, out of which 15,992 (98 per cent) 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 February.

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 February stood at 15,700, out of which 15,539 (98 per cent) were addressed.

According to the PTA data, 6,885 complaints were received against Jazz, out of which 6,870 (99 per cent) were resolved. Further, 3,224 complaints against Telenor were received, out of which 3,215 (99 per cent) were resolved. Likewise, 3,588 complaints were received against Zong, out of which 3,554 (99 per cent) were addressed. A total of 1,993 complaints were received against Ufone, out of which 1,892 (94 per cent) were resolved.

PTA also received 128 complaints against basic telephony, out of which 118 were addressed during February, for a resolution rate of 92 per cent. Furthermore, 355 complaints were received against ISPs, of which 324 (91 per cent) were addressed.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023