ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s telecom sector experienced a slight decline in cellular subscriptions, 3G/4G users, and overall mobile broadband penetration in November 2024, according to the latest data from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).
Cellular subscriptions dropped slightly from 193.309 million in October to 193.238 million in November. Similarly, 3G and 4G users decreased from 139.123 million in October to 139.037 million in November. Mobile broadband penetration fell from 57.02 percent in October to 56.9 percent in November, and total teledensity also decreased, from 80.3 percent to 80.1 percent during the same period.
Among the telecom operators, Jazz reported a decrease in 3G users, from 2.087 million in October to 1.549 million in November. However, Jazz’s 4G user base grew, increasing from 49.861 million to 50.191 million. Zong also saw a slight drop in 3G subscribers, from 1.893 million to 1.867 million, while its 4G users rose from 38.125 million to 38.300 million.
Telenor experienced a decline in both 3G and 4G users, with 3G subscribers falling from 1.434 million in October to 1.388 million in November, and 4G users dropping from 25.478 million to 25.428 million. Ufone’s 3G users decreased from 2.100 million to 2.047 million, but its 4G subscriber count grew from 16.433 million to 16.473 million.
The PTA also handled 15,861 complaints from telecom consumers in November, resolving 15,748 cases, which represents a 99 percent resolution rate. The majority of complaints were related to Cellular Mobile Operators (CMOs), which account for the largest share of telecom users. Of the 15,375 complaints against CMOs, 15,291 (99.5 percent) were resolved.
Breaking down the complaints by operator, Jazz received 6,271 complaints and resolved 99.9 percent of them. Telenor addressed 98.4 percent of its 3,084 complaints, Zong resolved 99.7 percent of 4,087 complaints, and Ufone handled 99.3 percent of 1,915 complaints.
In addition to CMOs, the PTA received 120 complaints about basic telephony services, with 97.5 percent resolved, and 352 complaints about ISPs, with 92.6 percent addressed.
