The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has described mobile voice and internet service in Islamabad and Rawalpindi as excellent after its chairman led on-ground drive tests across the twin cities on Thursday, November 5, 2026.
What happened?
Three PTA teams drove separate routes at the same time — covering the New Islamabad International Airport, T-Chowk, Constitution Avenue, Club Road, Murree Road, Rawal Road and the area around the old airport — making voice calls and using mobile data along the way. The exercise was led by PTA Chairman Major General (Retd.) Hafeez Ur Rehman, joined by three PTA members, the director general enforcement, representatives of the IT ministry, the mobile operators and the media.
Key details
- PTA called the initial results excellent, but it has not published any speed figures, call-drop counts or an operator-by-operator comparison, so the word “excellent” is the regulator’s own summary of what its teams observed.
- The survey followed a PTA direction issued in September, when operators were told to close coverage gaps in both cities by the end of October, including along Kashmir Highway and Islamabad Expressway, by building new sites and using new 5G spectrum bands. Operators that missed the mark were warned of penalties.
- PTA’s enforcement director had already run a shorter round of drive tests on October 31, the day the deadline ended.
- The tests were run with operator staff and reporters on board, along routes chosen by PTA in advance — mainly main roads and the airport, not the residential lanes, basements or upper floors where many people lose signal.
- PTA said the survey was meant to measure actual customer experience and find service gaps still needing work, and that it will keep monitoring in the field.
- A drive test is not PTA’s formal yardstick. The regulator also commissions independent quality-of-service surveys each quarter, whose city reports list operator-by-operator results against set benchmarks.
What it means for people in Pakistan
For mobile users in the twin cities, the regulator’s in-person check is a positive sign after months of complaints about weak signals, but the result comes with limits: it reflects main roads on one day, not every street or home. If calls still fail at home or on a daily route, users should note the place, time and operator and complain to the operator first, then to PTA if it is not resolved. The quarterly independent survey results will give the fuller picture when they are published.
Source: https://techprolonged.com/2026/11/pta-calls-twin-city-mobile-service-excellent-after-drive-tests/
