ISLAMABAD – The telecommunications industry in Pakistan is undergoing significant changes that impact business models, profitability and services. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has released a comprehensive survey revealing the country’s best and worst mobile networks for 2024.

Survey overview
The survey, conducted over a two-month period in the first quarter of 2024, assessed the performance of mobile network operators (CMOs) based on mobile network Quality of Service (QoS) regulations. The extensive survey included:

• 0.25 million mobile broadband testsy
• 45,000 call and SMS tests
• 0.13 million Ookla Speed tests

Evaluation criteria
The mobile networks were assessed and classified into four categories: mobile network coverage, mobile broadband, voice and SMS services. The assessment was based on QoS compliance and focused on SMS, voice quality, mobile broadband, data, latency and web browsing.

Geographic coverage
The survey covered more than a dozen cities in Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan from January 1 to March 31. 3G signal strength samples were recorded on the survey routes whenever the network was switched to 3G and the mobile phone was set to technology auto-detect mode.

Key Findings

• Over 300 calls failed during 20,485 call attempts.
• 143 calls were dropped before reaching the two-minute mark.
• 20,003 calls remained connected for the complete duration.