Zong Pakistan Network problem: No end to sufferings

Aftab Ahmed

There is no end to the problem on Zong Network in Pakistan. You may be receiving messages from the Zong network relating to call packages daily, weekly or monthly basis. Zong has also been quick to send a message regarding call packages to another network.

But it is not quick to address the complaints of the consumers. Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) fills a box of complaints every month in form of a survey. However, consumers still continue facing problems on the Zong network.

In a recent survey, consumers in Zong in Karachi are facing the worst quality, coverage, and overcharging issues. In such a situation what Zong call messages on a monthly or daily basis make sense when there is no service for the consumers?

Zong Network—China Mobile in Pakistan—has more complaints about its network in the top three major cities of Karachi in the country. The poor consumers of Zong have more complaints on three major parameters of a survey by its regulator.

In the latest survey of PTA about the services of four major Cellular Mobile Operators (CMOS) in Pakistan showed that the consumers of Zong Pakistan particularly in three major cities including Lahore, Karachi, and Rawalpindi has more complaints but the Metropolitan city of Karachi is the worst hit in all three major issues.

The voiceless consumers of Cellular Mobile Operators (CMOS) in Pakistan can only complain to PTA’s complaint box but none of the authorities either regulator or ministry turned a deaf ear to the constant complaints of poor 178 million consumers.

The poor consumers of any CMOs in Pakistan are just ATMs for them and minting the poor consumers by collecting over Rs 120 billion in the form of taxes, withholdings, and FED and HIDDEN deductions with the conveyance of the Ministry of IT and PTA.

Zong Network has 22 percent consumers in a total of 178 million subscribers in a 210 million population of the country. The consumers registered complaints with PTA—a Telecom regulator—on three major counts including Quality of Service, Coverage, and Billing issues, revealed a complaint survey of PTA.

The Zong consumers from Karachi are at the top who face problems on the network with 29 percent complaints about the network’s overcharging from the consumers. Some consumers also complain about deducting more from the consumers against their prescribed tariffs.

The consumers of Zong Pakistan like other CMOS have a complaint about the billing issues on the PTA portal for complaints after failing to get noticed by the help centers of the company to address the problem of the consumers on its network.

Besides Zong’s consumers in Karachi with more complaints, the Company’s consumers from Islamabad, Abbottabad, and Faisalabad have billing or overcharging issues with the Chinese Cellular Company in Pakistan.

On the issue of non-provision of services (Coverage issues of the Network), again Karachi consumers of Zong are facing more network issues. While Zong Network’s consumers in other cities of the country facing the worst coverage issues include Chiniot, Attock, and Hyderabad.

Similarly, Zong’s consumers from the port city of Karachi regarding the quality of service again complain about network problems whereas its consumers face from the other cities of the country and complain more about its quality of services includes Kasur, Faisalabad, and Lahore.