An independent survey conducted by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has found that none of the country’s cellular mobile operators (CMOs) fully complied with the regulator’s Quality of Service (QoS) standards during the first quarter of 2026, highlighting persistent gaps in network and customer service performance.
The survey, carried out between January and March across 18 cities, evaluated Jazz, Ufone, Telenor and Zong against 216 key performance indicators (KPIs) under the Cellular Mobile Network Regulations 2021. The assessment covered mobile network coverage, broadband performance, voice quality and SMS services. During the 75-day exercise, the PTA conducted approximately 43,222 voice call and SMS tests, along with extensive mobile data measurements.
Although all operators met the majority of regulatory benchmarks, none achieved full compliance.
Jazz emerged as the top-performing operator, meeting 205 of the 216 KPIs (95%), followed by Zong with 200 (93%), Ufone with 193 (89%), while Telenor ranked last, meeting 169 indicators (78%).
All operators met the benchmark for LTE/4G signal strength during auto-detect mode testing. However, they only partially met the regulator’s expectations for network latency, a key measure of mobile broadband performance that directly affects user experience.
In the overall rankings, Jazz led in SMS services and download speeds, while Zong topped voice services, mobile network coverage and upload speeds. Ufone ranked third in most service categories, whereas Telenor consistently placed fourth in mobile broadband performance and third in voice and SMS services.
City-wise results showed Jazz secured the top position in most surveyed locations, including Rawalpindi, Karachi West, Hyderabad and Swabi. Zong ranked first in Loralai, Malkwal, Sialkot and Zhob, while Ufone topped only Islamabad. Telenor failed to secure first place in any of the 18 cities surveyed.
Jazz also dominated download speed tests, leading in 13 cities under auto-mode testing and 11 cities in third-party application tests. Zong performed best in upload speeds, ranking first in 12 cities under auto-mode testing and 11 cities in third-party app measurements.
For voice quality, Zong achieved the best results by meeting 88 of 90 KPIs, outperforming Jazz, Telenor and Ufone. Jazz ranked first in SMS performance, followed by Zong, Ufone and Telenor.
The regulator said the quarterly survey aims to ensure compliance with internationally aligned standards and identify service deficiencies requiring corrective action. While operators generally met most regulatory benchmarks, the findings indicate Pakistan’s mobile networks still require further improvements before fully complying with PTA’s quality standards.
