The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has imposed financial penalties totalling Rs3.41 billion on mobile network operators over the past four years for violations related to quality of service, network coverage and other service-related issues.

According to official figures, the telecom regulator also issued 86 show-cause notices and 20 warning letters to operators during the period as part of its enforcement action aimed at improving the quality of mobile services across the country.

Industry representatives, speaking exclusively, said that when the issue of prolonged internet shutdowns is raised with the PTA, operators are informed that such suspensions do not fall within the regulator's decision-making mandate and are implemented on the directions of the relevant government and security authorities. The operators maintained that it was therefore unfair to attribute the entire impact of service disruptions to telecom companies when some of the factors affecting network availability were outside their operational control.

They said prolonged suspension of mobile internet services in different areas directly affects data consumption and consequently operators' revenues. According to industry representatives, companies face financial losses from such shutdowns while simultaneously being subjected to regulatory penalties relating to service quality and coverage.