The National Assembly Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunication on Tuesday expressed serious concern over the persistent poor quality of internet services across Pakistan, noting that service quality had not improved to the required standard despite about two years of parliamentary scrutiny. The meeting was held at Parliament House, Islamabad, under the chairmanship of Syed Amin ul Haq.
Members observed that internet services remained unsatisfactory in several districts, and that even major cities, including Karachi and Islamabad, were facing connectivity and service quality issues. The committee particularly highlighted frequent signal drops during WhatsApp calls, and noted that in smaller cities and remote districts, internet service was in certain areas almost negligible.
In response, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Chairman Major General (retired) Hafeez ur Rehman told the committee that the authority had identified deficiencies through surveys conducted in different areas and had directed telecom operators to improve their quality of service within three months wherever deficiencies were found. He said five show-cause notices had been issued to telecom operators over the past three months.
The PTA chairman also cited prolonged power outages as a major factor affecting telecom services, noting that load-shedding in rural areas, where electricity remained unavailable for 12 to 16 hours a day, affected the functioning of telecom towers. On 5G deployment, he said around 70 per cent of services in Karachi had been rolled out, while approximately 2,300 telecom towers had been upgraded to support the technology.
The committee chairman directed that there should be no compromise on quality of service and ordered telecom companies to improve their services immediately. The committee also took up the Electronic Transactions Amendment Bill, 2026, and deferred it again as the Ministry of Law and Justice sought more time to finalise amendments in consultation with the Pakistan Peoples Party. During the session, one committee member remarked that 4G service had worsened since 5G services began; that remark was reported by TechJuice and TechProlonged as a member’s view, not as a technical finding by the committee or the PTA.
Note: The featured image is an AI illustration created for this story, not a photograph of the meeting.
Sources
- The Nation (4 Nov 2026): https://www.nation.com.pk/04-Nov-2026/na-panel-expresses-concerns-persistent-poor-quality-internet-services
- Business Recorder (4 Nov 2026): https://www.brecorder.com/news/40447273/na-body-defers-electronic-transactions-amendment-bill-2026
- UrduPoint / APP (3 Nov 2026): https://www.urdupoint.com/en/pakistan/na-panel-expresses-concern-over-poor-internet-2282894.html
- Minute Mirror (3 Nov 2026): https://minutemirror.com.pk/pta-issues-show-cause-notices-to-five-telecom-operators-over-poor-internet-services-in-pakistan-655689/
- TechJuice (3 Nov 2026): https://www.techjuice.pk/na-committee-slams-telecom-jazz-ufone-zong-poor-network/