Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has directed the Cellular Mobile Operators (CMOs) to take corrective measures for improving the service quality up to the licensed standards.
PTA has carried out an independent Quality of Service (QoS) survey in 12 cities and 12 motorways/highways/inter-city roads of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan, intending to measure the performance and service quality of CMOs. The survey activity is part of the plan for QoS Surveys 2021, and is a continuous exercise in line with the vision of the Prime Minister of Pakistan to provide quality services to the public/subscribers.
During the survey, the licensed KPIs of voice, network coverage, SMS, and mobile broadband/data were checked using automated QoS Monitoring & Benchmarking Tool, “SmartBenchmarker.” The Drive test teams selected survey routes in such a manner to cover main roads, service roads, and a majority of sectors/colonies in surveyed areas.
Based upon the compliance level of each KPI as compared to the threshold defined in their respective licenses and QoS regulations, CMOs have been ranked between 1st to 4th position in each category, i.e., Mobile Network Coverage, Voice service, and SMS service in surveyed cities and motorways/highways. Similarly, in the Mobile Broadband Speed segment, the ranking is with respect to the highest data download speed.
As per the survey results, the compliance level in broadband services is better, while some issues have been observed in SMS and voice KPIs. The operators have been directed to take corrective measures for improving the service quality up to the licensed standards. By making this survey public, PTA is spurring competition among the operators to improve their existing infrastructure with an ultimate aim to increase the overall country-wide mobile service quality.
During the survey, 4G/LTE signal strength samples were recorded on survey routes. As per Next Generation Mobile Service (NGMS) licenses awarded, licensees are required to meet the threshold of -100dBm or above of Reference Signal Receive Power (RSRP) with a 90 percent confidence level. The motorways/highways/intercity roads where CMOs remained non-compliant of 4G/LTE (RSRP) Signal Strength include Jazz on five, Telenor on eight, Ufone on seven, and Zong on seven.
As per NGMS licenses awarded, licensees are required to meet the threshold of a minimum of 2Mbps of 4G User Data Throughput and 256Kbps of 3G User Data Throughput. The motorways/highways /intercity roads where CMOs remained non-compliant of 4G User Data Throughput > 2Mbps include Jazz in two, Telenor on four, and Ufone on three.
The motorways/highways /intercity roads where CMOs remained non-compliant of Network Accessibility > 99 percent include Jazz on three, Telenor on four, Ufone on four, and Zong on three.
The motorways/highways /intercity roads where CMOs remained non-compliant of Service Accessibility > 98 percent include Jazz and Telenor on eleven, Ufone on ten, and Zong on eight.
The motorways/highways /intercity roads where CMOs remained non-compliant Call Connection Time < 6.5 Seconds include Jazz on seven, Ufone on three, and Zong on six.
The motorways/highways /intercity roads where CMOs remained non-compliant of Call Completion Ratio > 98 percent include Jazz on six, Telenor on eight, Ufone on seven, and Zong on nine.
The motorways/highways /intercity roads where CMOs remained non-compliant of SMS Success Rate > 99% include Jazz on ten, Telenor on eight, Ufone on nine, and Zong on six.