Editor’s Blog (IT Insight)

Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd (PTCL) has withdrawn its recent controversial circular of price increase in domestic leased line circuits that are used for Internet and data services.

PTCL in a press statement said: “Keeping in view the manifold increase in cost of service provisioning by PTCL and similar pressures faced by our valued ISP and DNOP customers and in consultation with PTA, PTCL being a socially responsible organisation has withdrawn its decision for price rationalization and will serve the ISP and DNOP customers at the earlier rates.”

PTCL announced last week a 450-700 per cent increase in prices of its domestic leased line circuits. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in Pakistan strongly opposed the move and Internet users all across the country also expressed their concern over increased bandwidth charges. ISPs Association of Pakistan (ISPAK) termed the price increase unlawful, anti-competitive and appealed to Pakistan Telecom Authority (PTA) for immediate action against PTCL. As the price increase move is reversed now, ISPAK has also expressed its satisfaction on the reversal.

Reportedly, Pakistan’s telecom regulating body - Pakistan Telecom Authority (PTA) held closed door consultations with PTCL and asked the largest telecom operator to withdraw the unilateral price hike decision.

Spokesman of ISPAK, Wahaj us Siraj, while talking to a national newspaper said: “We appreciate the decision of PTCL management to withdraw the price increase which could have led to doubling the prices of internet for the customers”.

It was revealed by Pakistan’s Prime Minister - Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani - yesterday that  teledensity in the country had increased to 58 percent of the population, which was the highest in South Asia. This sounds really good, but does it also mean we have highest QoS in the region? Not really!

No doubt, Pakistan remained one of the fastest growing telecom markets in the world where in the last year mobile industry invested close to $3 billion of total Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) coming into the country. But the Quality of Service (QoS) monitoring and enforcement needs a lot to be done.

Pakistan’s Telecom Authority (PTA) had to face severe criticism in recent past over unidentified SIM cards which are avilable throughout the country. As these SIMS can be used for any kind of illegal activity, analysts believe it is the fault of PTA as it could have imparted a strict policy since it issued cellular licenses.