ISLAMABAD: The number of cellular subscribers increased from 191.46 million by end February to 192.07 million by end March 2024, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA)’s data revealed.

The number of 3G and 4G users in Pakistan increased from 130.92 million by end February to 131.94 million by end March.

The cellular teledensity increased from 79.51 percent by end February to 79.63 percent by end March. Total teledensity increased from 80.6 per cent by end-February to 80.7 per cent by end-March.

The Next Generation Mobile Service (NGMS) penetration increased from 54.37 per cent by end-February to 54.7 per cent by end-March.

Jazz’s total count for 3G users declined from 3.383 million by end February to 3.312 million by end March. Jazz 4G users increased from 45.463 million by end-February to 45.881 million by end-March.

Zong 3G subscribers decreased from 2.122 million by end-February to 2.095 million by end-March while the number of 4G users increased from 35.249 million by end-February to 35.665 million by end-March.

Telenor 3G subscribers decreased from 2.138 million by end-February to 1.983 million by end-March while the number of 4G users of Telenor increased from 23.841 million by end-February to 24.146 million by end-March.

Ufone 3G users stood at 2.339 million by end-March compared to 2.347 million by end-February. The number of 4G users of Ufone increased from 14.800 million by end-February to 14.930 million by end-March.

The PTA received 17,712 complaints from telecom consumers against different telecom operators and cellular operators in March 2024, out of which, 17,603 (99.4 per cent) 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 March.

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 March stood at 17,327, out of which, 17,233 (99.5 per cent) were addressed.

According to the PTA data, 7,398 complaints were received against Jazz, out of which, 7,374 (99.7 percent) were resolved.

Further, 2,551 complaints against Telenor were received, out of which, 2,528 (99.1 percent) were resolved. Likewise, 5,661 complaints were received against Zong, out of which, 5,639 (99.6 percent) were addressed. A total of 1,707 complaints were received against Ufone, out of which, 1,682 (98.5 percent) were resolved.

The PTA also received 92 complaints against basic telephony, out of which, 89 were addressed during March with a resolution rate of 96.7per cent.

Furthermore, 290 complaints were received against ISPs, of which, 278 (95.9 per cent) were addressed.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024