PTA QoS Survey 2026: Mobile Networks Fall Short on Quality Standards

Pakistan’s cellular mobile operators have failed to meet several prescribed quality benchmarks, with mobile broadband emerging as the most significant area of concern, according to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority’s (PTA) independent Quality of Service (QoS) survey for the second quarter of 2026.

The survey, conducted between April and June across 11 cities, found considerable differences in network coverage, internet speeds, latency, voice calls, and SMS services among Jazz, Zong, Ufone, and Telenor.

While operators demonstrated high compliance in several areas, the findings identified persistent shortcomings in mobile broadband performance, with overall compliance reaching just 85 percent. Coverage compliance stood at 98%, followed by SMS at 97% and voice services at 92%.

The assessment was conducted under the Cellular Mobile Network Quality of Service Regulations, 2021, which require operators to meet or exceed prescribed performance standards.

Jazz recorded the highest overall compliance, meeting 130 of the 132 assessed KPIs, while falling short on two. Zong followed with 128 compliant KPIs and four non-compliant indicators.

Ufone met 121 benchmarks but failed 11, while Telenor recorded the lowest overall compliance, meeting 112 indicators and missing 20.

The findings indicate that the extent of non-compliance varied considerably across operators and surveyed locations.

Across all four operators, 491 of the 528 KPI checks were compliant, while 37 instances of non-compliance were recorded.

Jazz leads download speeds; Zong dominates uploads

Jazz recorded the strongest performance in mobile broadband download throughput under auto-mode testing, securing the highest speeds in nine of the 11 cities.

Zong led download throughput in the remaining two cities, while Ufone and Telenor occupied the third and fourth positions, respectively, in the survey’s overall performance ordering.

The positions were reversed for upload throughput, where Zong secured first place in seven cities and Jazz led in four.

Third-party application testing reflected a broadly similar pattern. Jazz achieved the highest download throughput in eight cities, compared with three for Zong.

In third-party upload testing, Zong led in six cities, followed by Jazz in four.

The assessment also identified gaps in latency performance, a key measure of the time taken for data to travel between a user’s device and a network destination.

Under auto-mode testing, Zong achieved latency compliance in all 11 cities, followed by Jazz in 10.

Ufone met the prescribed threshold in seven cities, while Telenor achieved compliance in six. This meant Ufone and Telenor failed the applicable latency benchmark in four and five cities, respectively.

Webpage loading performance produced different results, with Ufone and Zong meeting the prescribed benchmark in all 11 surveyed cities. Jazz and Telenor achieved compliance in nine cities each.

Voice and SMS performance: Jazz records full compliance

Voice services showed comparatively strong results for Jazz, which met all 55 assessed KPIs without recording a single instance of non-compliance.

Zong and Telenor each met 53 of the 55 indicators, with two instances of non-compliance apiece. Ufone recorded 51 compliant indicators and four non-compliant results.

SMS performance followed a similar pattern, with Jazz and Zong each meeting all 22 applicable KPIs.

Ufone complied with 19 indicators but missed three, while Telenor recorded 17 compliant and five non-compliant KPIs.

PTA conducts extensive field testing across 11 cities

According to the authority, the survey involved 33 days of field testing and more than 2,000 kilometres of travel.

The exercise included approximately 27,300 voice call and SMS tests, alongside around 190,000 samples collected to evaluate mobile broadband performance.

The assessment covered Peshawar, Abbottabad, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad, Quetta, Hub, Sukkur and Karachi West.

PTA said the survey routes were selected to cover the maximum population area of the respective cities, while statistically significant samples were collected to evaluate critical network performance parameters.

The authority reiterated that cellular mobile operators are required to meet or exceed the quality benchmarks prescribed under the 2021 regulations.

The findings provide a city-level assessment of operator performance, identifying areas where network coverage and service quality remain below regulatory standards.