Internet quality poor even in major cities, NA panel told

• IT committee notes power outages affecting mobile towers, telecom services• PTA claims 92pc smartphones in Pakistan locally manufactured or assembled• Panel asks IT ministry to encourage Apple, other brands to assemble locally• Electronic Transactions amendment bill deferred

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunication on Tuesday expressed serious concern over the unsatisfactory state of internet services in the country, noting that poor connectivity was affecting not only remote areas but also major cities such as Karachi.

Committee Chairman Syed Aminul Haque observed that users frequently experienced slow internet speeds and repeated call connection failures despite multiple attempts.

PTA Chairman Hafeezur Rehman briefed the committee that the total available spectrum in the country previously stood at 274MHz but had increased to 754MHz after the 5G spectrum auction.

He said telecom operators had launched 5G services in 22 cities. However, he said no new infrastructure had been deployed so far and 5G services had been enabled on existing mobile towers and network infrastructure.

He said new 5G infrastructure would be deployed gradually in subsequent phases, which would improve the quality and speed of internet services across the country over the next six to eight months.

The committee observed that one of the major challenges affecting the quality of mobile and broadband services was shortage of electricity for basic telecommunications infrastructure.

It noted that prolonged power outages adversely affected the performance of mobile towers, resulting in poor internet connectivity and disruptions in mobile services for consumers.

Members noted that in certain areas, loadshedding of up to 10 hours a day significantly affected........

© Dawn Business