The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has started a consultation process on Quality of Service (QoS) regulations and seeks input from the general public, consumers, and broadband service providers.
According to the telecom regulator, the proposed ‘Fixed-line QoS Regulations’ are available on the PTA website and are open for comments, views, and feedback until 15 March.
As maintained by the regulator, the related inspections, surveys, and benchmarking exercises are periodically performed to ensure that telecommunication service users get the best possible QoS levels. The PTA also aims to engage service providers in a series of constructive dialogues to remove the impediments to the quality of services via this consultative practice.
The PTA also regularly publishes QoS results for users to compare operators.
The growing number of subscribers and advancements in broadband technologies in recent years have led the PTA to revise the existing parameters. Additionally, some quality of experience standards have been introduced per best international and regional practices, and the standards defined by international bodies such as the International Telecommunication Union-Telecommunication (ITU-T) and European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), among others.
In light of the recent surveys showing the deteriorating quality of the telecom services in the country, the telecom regulator has started conducting QoS surveys more frequently. The PTA had published a draft of the new QoS regulations on its website on 18 February and has now begun a public consultation on this draft, subject to revision based on feedback gathered during the process.
