Lahore: Pakistani mobile phone companies
have complained to authorities that interference in frequency
bandwidth from Indian cellular operators, Tata Mobile and
Reliance Communications, is affecting the quality of their
services.
The areas of Lahore, Sialkot, Kasur, Sahiwal,
Bahawalnagar and Bahawalpur, which border India, are being
affected by the bandwidth interference, representatives of
mobile phone companies said.
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and
Frequency Allocation Board (FAB) carried out a joint survey
following the complaints of mobile phone companies.
It said that the interference had caused a "calculable
depreciation in quality of mobile telecommunication services
in areas of Punjab province located near the border with
India."
According to the PTA, the country`s regulatory body
for cell phone companies, the main cause of the interference
are the operations of Tata Mobile and Reliance Communications.
These two Indian companies have the same frequency
bandwidths as those allocated to Pakistani mobile operators by
the FAB.
Internal surveys by the telecommunication industry too
revealed that there is a "significant increase" in
interference in the bandwidth used by Pakistani security
forces.
"There is also resentment among some cellular
operators as they have been unable to improve the quality of
service despite large investments to gain consumer goodwill,"
the PTA said.
PTA said that as the allocated bandwidths continue
to be cluttered with interference, certain companies operating
in Pakistan have lost customer confidence.
Pakistan has not yet taken up this issue with India
at any international forum, officials said.
PTI
