PTA Reports a Third Consecutive Month of Declining Cellphone Users

According to figures from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), both the total number of cellular subscribers and the teledensity decreased in Pakistan during October 2022 for the third consecutive month.

In Pakistan, the number of cellular subscribers fell by 0.63 million to 193.51 million by the end of October from 194.14 million by the end of September 2022.

However, according to official sources, the PTA has started a multi-finger biometric verification program to strengthen SIM authentication and combat the problem of unauthorized SIM sales to franchisees and resellers.

The use of biometric verification techniques may lead to a decrease in operators issuing illicit SIM cards, which would lead to a decline in cellular mobile subscriptions.

Cellular mobile’s teledensity dropped from 87.98% at the end of September to 87.62% by the end of October 2022.

By the end of October, the overall teledensity had dropped from 89.17 percent at the end of September to 88.81 percent.

By the end of October 2022, there were 0.09 million more 3G and 4G customers in Pakistan than there were at the end of September, bringing the total to 120.68 million.

From 54.65 percent at the end of September to 54.6 percent at the end of October, the Monthly Next Generation Mobile Service (NGMS) penetration fell.

Jazz’s overall 3G user count decreased by 0.231 million from 5.456 million at the end of September to 5.225 million at the end of October.

By the end of October, there were 40.677 million Jazz 4G users, up from 40.485 million at the end of September.

In October 2022, the PTA received 13,393 complaints from customers of various telecom providers and cellular operators, of which 13,081 (97%) were settled.