ISLAMABAD: The number of cellular subscribers in Pakistan decreased from 190.44 million by end-August 2023 to 189.740 million by end-September 2023, the Pakistan Telecommuni-cation Authority (PTA) data revealed.

The cellular teledensity has declined from 79.87 percent by end-August 2023 to 79.44 percent by end-September. Total teledensity decreased from 80.95 percent by end-August to 80.52 percent by end-September.

The number of 3G and 4G users in Pakistan increased by 0.320 million from 126.610 million by end-August 2023 to 126.930 million by end-September.

The Monthly Next Generation Mobile Service (NGMS) penetration increased from 53.1 percent by end-August to 53.14 percent by end-September.

Jazz’s total count for 3G users declined from 4.148 million by end-August to 3.893 million by end-September. Jazz 4G users increased from 43.010 million by end-August to 43.162 million by end-September.

Zong 3G subscribers decreased from 2.425 million by end-August to 2.378 million by end-September while the number of 4G users increased from 33.269 million by end-August 33.494 million by end-September.

Telenor 3G subscribers decreased 2.720 million by end-August to 2.656 million by end-September while the number of 4G users of Telenor increased from 23.260 million by end-August to 23.320 million by end-September.

Ufone 3G users stood at 2.481 million by end-September compared to 2.676 million by end-August. The number of 4G users of Ufone increased from 13.616 million by end-August to 14.044 million by end-September.

The PTA received 13596 complaints from telecom consumers against different telecom operators and cellular operators in September 2023, out of which, 13459 (99 percent) were resolved.

Official data revealed that the complaints were received against various telecom operators, including cellular mobile operators (CMOs), Pakistan Telecommuni-cations Company Limited (PTCL), long-distance international (LDI) operators, wireless local loop (WLL) operators, and internet service providers (ISPs), during September.

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 September stood at 13077, out of which, 12971 (99.2 percent) were addressed.

According to the PTA data, 6,117 complaints were received against Jazz, out of which, 6,072(99 percent) were resolved. Further, 2,241 complaints against Telenor were received, out of which, 2,224 (99.2 percent) were resolved. Likewise, 3,365 complaints were received against Zong, out of which, 3,342 (99.6 percent) were addressed. A total of 1357 complaints were received against Ufone, out of which 1,327 (97.8 percent) were resolved.

The PTA also received 125 complaints against basic telephony, out of which, 114 were addressed during September with a resolution rate of 91.2 percent. Furthermore, 388 complaints were received against ISPs, of which, 368 (94.8 percent) were addressed.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023