Mobile and Internet Likely to be Declared Essential Services
The Senate Standing Committee on IT and Telecom, led by Senator Sadia Abbasi, has proposed reforms that may designate mobile and internet services as essential under the Essential Services Act. This change aims to provide stronger legal protections to these services, equating them with utilities like electricity and gas.
During a recent session, the committee directed the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and other relevant agencies to take immediate measures to safeguard telecom infrastructure. The move comes in response to increasing public concern about the quality and reliability of internet and mobile services across Pakistan.
Senator Abbasi emphasized the critical role of internet access as a necessity for all citizens, highlighting widespread dissatisfaction related to internet speed and connectivity. PTA representatives shared that load shedding has become a significant operational challenge for telecom operators, severely affecting service continuity.
According to the PTA director, telecom operators encounter up to 12 hours of power outages daily in some areas, despite being compliant with electricity payments. Given that telecom towers can only maintain battery backup for one to two hours, extended power cuts directly disrupt mobile and internet services, leading to adverse effects on users nationwide.
The PTA underscored the need for uninterrupted electricity supply to telecom infrastructure to improve service quality sustainably. Additionally, officials reported mounting security issues, including over 9,200 incidents of diesel theft at telecom towers in the past 11 months.
These thefts predominantly affect towers in Balochistan and other critical regions, with 90 towers experiencing repeated attacks, indicating organized criminal activities targeting telecom assets. The Universal Service Fund (USF) highlighted that among more than 4,000 mobile towers, around 330 towers have faced theft, compromising network stability.
The committee’s deliberations suggest that formal recognition of mobile and internet services as essential could lead to stronger regulatory and protective frameworks. This is expected to help mitigate challenges such as power shortages, theft, and infrastructure vulnerabilities that are currently impacting Pakistan’s telecom sector.