Cellular operators to face action on poor service: PTA
—Cellular subscriptions increase to 45m
By Ali Imran

ISLAMABAD—Chairman Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Major Gen (retd) Shahzada Alam Malik has said that mobile phone operators have been asked to improve their services and those who failed to do so will face action as per the law.
He said this while talking to the members of the Rawalpindi Chamber ofCommerce & Industry (RCCI) at the Chamber Office. The Chairman said that PTA was continuously pursuing operators to offer good quality of service and these efforts have shown substantial improvement. The mobilecompanies have been asked to further enhance their quality so that problems such as call connecting error, wrong billing etc could be resolved. He also emphasized on telecom consumers to help PTA in improving qualityof service and not to subscribe to the operators offering lower standard
of service. The chairman briefed the Chamber members about the recentachievements of telecom sector. He said that new consumers are fast joining telecom networks which have contributed towards the overall growth of the sector.
The cellular mobile subscribers continue to soar and it has reached 45 million with 28.5 percent penetration, while overall teledensity of the country has jumped to 32.8 percent in 2006 from the mere 2.8 percent in 2001, he added. He said that WLL service is also growing graduallyand presently 1.37 million people have subscribed to this service. The chairman said that three private companies Multinet, Wateen and LinkDirect are laying their fiber optic cable and it will add further momentum to the telecom growth.
Chairman said that PTA will also join hands to educate consumers about mobile phone ethics. He said that consumers should ensure appropriate usage of mobile phones at public places. The President of RCCI Hasan Sarosh Akram congratulated the chairman PTA on his election to the International Telecom Union (ITU) RRB Board. He appreciated PTA’s role in the proliferation of telecom services across the country. The President explained the problems faced by the members. He said thatPTCL services needs to be improved besides lowering the local call charges and line rent. The other office bearers and members of the Chamber offered their views on telecom related issues including co-location, internet speed, WLL service, billing etc. The President of RCCI presented shield to Chairman PTA on this occasion.
APP adds: Chairman Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Major Gen. Shahzada Alam Malik Wednesday said that mobile phone operators have been directed to improve their services, adding, those who failed to do so will face action as per the law. He was talking to the members of Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) at the Chamber Office.
The Chairman said that PTA was continuously pursuing operators to offer good quality of service and these efforts have shown substantial improvement. The mobile companies have been asked to further enhance their quality so that problems such as call connecting error, wrong billing etc could be resolved. He also emphasized on telecom consumers to help PTA in improving quality of service and not to subscribe to the operators offering lower standard of service. The chairman briefed the Chamber members about the recent achievements of telecom sector. He said new consumers are fast joining telecom networks which has contributed towards the overall growth of the sector.
The cellular mobile subscribers continue to soar and it has reached 45 million with 28.5 per cent penetration, while, overall teledensity of the country has jumped to 32.8 percent in 2006 from the mere 2.8 percent in 2001, he added. He said that WLL service is also growing gradually and presently 1.37 million people have subscribed to this service.
The chairman said that three private companies Multinet, Wateen and Link Direct are laying their fiber optic cable and it will add further momentum to the telecom growth. He said PTA will also join hands to educate consumers about mobile phone ethics. He said that consumers should ensure appropriate usage of mobile phones at public places.
The President of RCCI Hasan Sarosh Akram congratulated the chairman PTA on his election to the International Telecom Union (ITU) RRB Board. He appreciated PTA’s role in the proliferation of telecom services across the country. The President explained the problems faced by the members. He said that PTCL services needs to be improved besides lowering the local call charges and line rent.
The other office bearers and members of the Chamber offered their views on telecom related issues including co-location, internet speed, WLL service, billing etc.