PTA’s QoS Survey Evaluates Cellular Services

In order to measure the performance and quality of Cellular Mobile Operators’ (CMOs) services being provided to customers, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) carried out an Independent Quality of Service (QoS) Survey in seventeen (17) cities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Sindh Balochistan and in three (3) cities of Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK). 

Survey routes were selected to cover main roads, service roads, and key sectors/colonies, totaling 14,000 kilometers in 79 days to cover maximum area. Mobile handsets, set to technology auto-detect and 3G locked modes, were employed for Voice Calls, SMS, and Mobile Broadband/Data sessions, especially in AJ&K cities. The survey included 0.25 million tests for  Data, 45,000 for Voice & SMS, and 0.13 million tests in Ookla, utilizing automated QoS Monitoring & Benchmarking Tools to ascertain compliance with Next Generation Mobile Service (NGMS) licenses as well as Cellular Mobile Network Quality of Service (QoS) Regulations 2021.

Based upon the compliance level of each KPI in surveyed cities against threshold defined in the respective licenses and QoS Regulations, CMOs were ranked 1st to 5th in Mobile Network Coverage and Voice Services. In Mobile Broadband Speed segment, rankings were based on factors like highest data download & upload speed, network latency, and webpage loading time.

The survey results indicate that CMOs are compliant with respect to upload and download speed to a great extent, with improvements in network latency and webpage loading time compared to previous surveys. However, certain Voice KPIs fall below licensed thresholds in specific areas. Operators employing advanced technologies like LTE Carrier Aggregation and Voice over LTE deliver better quality of services. Instructions have been issued to operators for necessary improvements to meet quality standards. Survey results are available on PTA’s website (https://pta.gov.pk/en/consumer-support/qos-survey/qos-survey).

PTA field teams are diligently conducting service quality monitoring to encourage operators to enhance mobile services and promote healthy competition.

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