How Does Pakistan Telecommunication Authority Work?

Pakistan’s first step into a fully-developed telecom market was created in 1994 with the establishment of the Pakistan Telecommunication Ordinance under prime minister Benazir Bhutto. The law accommodated a regulatory framework for the whole industry, including the establishment of an authority.

In 1996, the country established its own telecommunication department (Pakistan Telecommunication Authority)to handle all of its technical aspects and needs by warping their actions under the Pakistani Telecommunications Authority (PTA). As of today, Pakistan Telecom offers quality services nationwide to meet our modernized times.

PTA has spread across the country, with PTA headquarters located in Islamabad and its regional offices in Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta, Gilgit Baltistan, and Muzaffarabad.

Functions of Pakistan Telecommunication Authority

PTA carries out some important tasks listed below:

• Regulate the telecommunication operations throughout the country.
• Regulate the use of radio-frequency spectrum.
• Protects the consumer rights and interests.
• Ensures the delivery of high quality services throughout Pakistan.
• Keeps on bringing innovations in Telecommunication sector.
• Investigates the complaints against license holder companies and takes legal action accordingly.

Division of Functions in Pakistan Telecommunication Authority

Commercial Affairs

The Commercial Affairs Division is mainly responsible for ensuring fair competition within the region. The division works on the promises made between different companies as well as those made between customers and corporations – they have a lot of making up to do.

The department also works to ensure that each public telecom provider is running at a standard rate that will allow customers easier access around the city.

CONSUMER PROTECTION

The CP department is responsible for the registration and resolution of consumer complaints made to the Authority through a toll-free number, telephone, fax, email, webmail, or post. CP performs analysis of these consumer complaints with the aim of isolating key problem areas and their rectification from telecom operators.

The CP department creates policies to gauge consumers’ interests so that they are protected by adhering to existing laws. They establish regulatory mechanisms for larger consumer protection in the telecommunications industry based on government policies.

Coordination

The Coordination Division is mainly dealing with internal coordination based on the instructions of MMTA for having international coordination, internal or external authorities meetings, letters to outside MMTA including line organizations and other government departments.

In addition, the coordination division regularly performs the role of Chairman’s secretariat, handling of the foreign visitors to the current Iranian year by international governmental organizations, preparation of target and goal for the current year and following up on some routine tasks assigned by authority annually to different divisions/directorate.

CYBER VIGILANCE

The ICT Division has three departments, which are the ICT Department, the Cyber Security Department, and the Vigilance Directorate. The tasks of this department include research into IT within both government and private corporations alongside monitoring how certain events will affect them.

One of its most important objectives is controlling grey traffic, which is accomplished by detecting unauthorized IP addresses, tracking down illegal gateway exchanges hindering revenue to the government which results in the interception of millions of rupees worth of communications. Cyber security combats many kinds of internet threats.

It also reviews systems to improve their security so that any threatening circumstances arising from lack of proper safeguarding are avoided before they do harm. The directorate issues advisories informing about these kinds of circumstances so that action can be taken before anything harmful happens.

ENFORCEMENT

Enforcement Division is the largest division of PTA and is all around Pakistan. There are eight zones in Enforcement Division, each zone has a zone head who reports to the Central Head of the Enforcement Division. Under every zone, there are area heads.

The zone heads report zone-wise activity to the central head who then reviews it and reports to Authority. If need be, zone-level meetings are held where activities for that zone take place and decisions made by local authorities are reviewed by the authority’s permission (or order).

GOVERNMENT AND EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

GOVERNMENT AND EXTERNAL AFFAIRS Division is responsible for submitting parliamentary queries and briefs to National Assembly Standing Committees, Senators, and the Prime Minister. G&EA is also responsible for dialogue with other government ministries to ensure that all parties are able to interact effectively.

WEB ANALYSIS

Web Analysis Division screens all websites for content that is pornographic, offensive, or slanderous. If the analysis team finds any illegal content on a website, they inform the appropriate governmental department so they can take action against it.

Additionally, if the complaint is handled by another agency, WAD receives notices informing them of what sections have been handled by another agency so that duplicated efforts are not taken to block any specific site.

LAW & REGULATIONS

Law and regulations are a division that involves drafting — interpreting — and reviewing legislation related to telecommunication regulation. These professionals also help formulate legal opinions on various matters referred by various divisions of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, as well as licensees, stakeholders, ministries/divisions, and other forums.

In addition, they advise the authority on matters requiring legal input on various regulatory issues, as well as the initiation of legal proceedings under section 23 of the Pakistan Telecommunications Act. Their role also includes processing complaints from or about dissatisfied customers before their respective regional offices of Wafaqi Mohtasib (Ombudsman).

LICENSING

Licensing division deals with the allocation of the radiofrequency spectrum. This involves processing license applications for telecom companies like cellular mobile operators, next-generation mobile operators, and wireless local loop providers.

The licensing division is responsible for dealing with all licensing matters related to licensing; this includes licensing long distance and international (LDI) licenses, fixed local loop (FLL) licenses, telecom tower provider licenses (TTPs), telecommunications infrastructure provider licenses (TIPs), third party service provider licenses (TPSPs), Class Value Added Service Licenses (CVASs), and CVAS Registration.

SERVICES

Devices are frequently being submitted to the Services Division of Device Testing laboratories for evaluation by quality assurance. Operators of FDA-registered manufacturer agents are listed with certificate numbers complied with all Certificates of Conformity issued by the PTA, by the services sector.

Device testing laboratories deal with global regulators listed with non-geographic International Numbering codes allocated by the Federal Service Group under Federal Registration Authority RFW RFRI.