Telcos Add 43 New Sites in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Telecom companies have collectively added 43 new sites across Hangu and Kurram districts over the past year to improve service quality, the Ministry of IT and Telecom informed the National Assembly in a written reply.

This expansion aims to boost connectivity and address ongoing issues in network performance and accessibility in these areas.

In Hangu, 30 new sites were installed over the past year. Ufone led the additions with 19 sites, followed by Zong with eight, and Jazz with three. Additionally, Ufone upgraded 28 sites to 4G to enhance data speeds and connectivity quality for users in the district. Telenor did not add any new sites in Hangu during this period.

In the Kurram district, 13 new sites were added. Ufone again led by installing nine sites, followed by Jazz with three, and Zong with one. Both Ufone and Jazz upgraded four of their sites in the district to 4G, providing a notable improvement in data and voice services.

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has pushed mobile operators to take several measures over the past year, including the installation of new sites, upgrades from 2G to 4G, and advanced technical measures to improve coverage.

Additional upgrades to VoLTE for Jazz, Zong, and Telenor have improved voice service quality, with Jazz adopting Voice over WiFi (VoWiFi). Service availability has also improved due to reduced power outages, and PTA’s Complaint Management System (CMS) provides targeted support for area-specific issues.

Independent quality-of-service (QoS) surveys in Hangu showed improvements between May 2023 and August 2024, with Ufone’s data and Jazz’s voice services meeting compliance standards following PTA-directed remedial measures. In Kurram, on-ground surveys have been limited due to security issues, though PTA continues to monitor network performance via system parameters.