Telecom companies warn about shutting down their services

As a result of hours-long power outages, telecom companies have warned about shutting down their services.

Telecom operators hinted at shutting down phone and broadband services in a joint letter to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) because the government has imposed a 100 percent cash margin requirement on the import of telecom-related equipment.

They claim that the consistent supply of backup energy to towers and installations has become a problem. Telecom companies also mentioned difficulties in keeping mobile towers running on backup systems powered by gasoline. The event comes after the federal government raised petrol prices to an all-time high of Rs233.89 per litre.

“We want to share the doomsday scenario with you, as connectivity load shedding will hit the country in 2023 if the duty and taxes on Fiber Optical Cable and other telecom sector taxes are not significantly reduced.” Because there will be no connectivity ensured without fiber optical cables, mobile phone services will be disrupted for hours,” representatives of three major telecom operators, including Jazz, Telenor, and Ufone, briefed the Senate Standing Committee on Finance here on Friday afternoon.

Previously, the telecom authority acknowledged that mobile companies, unlike other utility companies, cannot shut down their operations.

It maintained that operators are required to provide uninterrupted telecom services to subscribers in accordance with the terms and conditions of their licences.