PTA Broadband Survey Finds Operators Falling Short
A PTA broadband survey has found Pakistan’s fixed broadband operators falling short of quality benchmarks, with slow upload speeds, congestion, high latency, jitter and packet loss affecting service in several cities. That is the finding of a Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) survey for the third quarter of 2026, published on Tuesday.
The regulator ran two surveys during July to September 2026 under the Fixed Broadband Quality of Service Regulations, 2022. One tested services at the user end, covering 12 broadband operators in 15 cities. The other tested networks, covering 23 operators across 21 cities. Business Recorder reported that both surveys found multiple breaches of the prescribed benchmarks.
What the PTA broadband survey found
The user-end survey found Multinet Pakistan’s Rawalpindi operation among the worst performers, meeting only two of eight prescribed quality indicators, a compliance score of 25 per cent. Cyber Internet Services also recorded weak performance in Lahore, with a compliance score of 37.5 per cent, while its Islamabad operation reached only 50 per cent.
At the network end, Pace Telecom and Broadcasting (Pvt) Ltd recorded the lowest compliance score of 57.14 per cent in Abbottabad, failing to meet prescribed core and access network availability standards. Its core network availability stood at 99.73 per cent against the required 99.9 per cent, while access network availability was 97.13 per cent against the benchmark of 99 per cent.
The regulator also flagged Falcon Broadband in Vehari for recording jitter of 40.61 milliseconds, far above the prescribed maximum of 15 milliseconds. Jitter measures the variation in delay between data packets, and high jitter makes video calls stutter and online games lag.
Upload speeds are the weak point
The user-end survey identified upload throughput as one of the most widespread weaknesses. Under PTA standards, upload speeds must remain at least 25 per cent of advertised package speeds for xDSL connections and above 50 per cent for other technologies, while download speeds must exceed 80 per cent of advertised speeds.
Multinet, Cyber Internet, Connect Communications, Nexlinx Networks, PTCL, Naya Tel and Burak Tech were among the operators identified for deficiencies in download throughput.
Network performance problems extended beyond speed. Multinet, NTC, Cyber Internet and PTCL recorded deficiencies in local network latency, while Multinet also failed the international terrestrial latency benchmark. PTCL, NTC, Cyber Internet, Nexlinx and Multinet were flagged for excessive jitter, while Cyber Internet, PTCL, Connect Communications, Naya Tel, Multinet and SCO recorded packet-loss deficiencies against the maximum permissible threshold of one per cent.
Cyber Internet and Nexlinx also exceeded the prescribed four-second webpage loading benchmark at locations covered by the survey.
What the network tests showed
The network-end assessment presented a better picture. All surveyed operators met prescribed local and international latency thresholds, and the minimum throughput requirements of four megabits per second for downloads and two megabits per second for uploads.
Even so, bandwidth utilisation exceeded the regulatory threshold of 80 per cent in some networks, raising concerns about congestion and reduced internet speeds during peak traffic hours. The PTA’s network-end assessment showed that 16 of 28 city-operator entries achieved full compliance across seven performance indicators, while the rest recorded compliance scores between 57.14 per cent and 85.71 per cent.
Wide Band Communications in Peshawar was the only operator in the user-end survey to achieve full compliance across all eight indicators.
What this means for users
For households, the findings explain a familiar frustration: a connection that tests well for downloads can still fail at video calls, sending large files, online classes and cloud backups, all of which depend on upload speed.
Slow uploads also hurt small businesses and freelancers who send work to clients online, and they make video meetings unreliable at the hours when networks are busiest.
The picture is not all bleak. Pakistan’s internet has become faster overall, and new services such as Google Fi’s dual 5G network are raising expectations for mobile data. But the PTA survey shows that fixed broadband, the connection most homes and offices rely on, still lags behind the standards the regulator itself has set.
The regulator has also been pressing operators on mobile service. The PTA issued five show-cause notices to mobile operators over poor service in three months, though recovery of the fines is held up by court stay orders.
What happens now
The PTA said its Enforcement Division ran the surveys through field testing and inspections of network operation centres.
The regulator has asked non-compliant operators to take corrective measures, including capacity enhancement, network optimisation, congestion management, improved routing, enhanced network availability and jitter reduction. Follow-up testing will be carried out to verify whether the operators have fixed the deficiencies.
Frequently asked questions
What did the PTA broadband survey find?
The PTA’s third-quarter 2026 survey found fixed broadband operators falling short of quality benchmarks on upload speeds, latency, jitter and packet loss in several cities, with Multinet’s Rawalpindi operation the worst at 25 per cent compliance.
How many operators and cities did the survey cover?
The user-end survey covered 12 broadband operators in 15 cities, while the network-end survey covered 23 operators across 21 cities, during July to September 2026.
Which operator performed best?
Wide Band Communications in Peshawar was the only operator in the user-end survey to achieve full compliance across all eight quality indicators.
What are the PTA’s speed standards?
Upload speeds must be at least 25 per cent of advertised speeds for xDSL and above 50 per cent for other technologies, while download speeds must exceed 80 per cent of advertised speeds.
What must operators do now?
The PTA has asked non-compliant operators to improve capacity, optimise networks, manage congestion, improve routing and cut jitter, with follow-up testing to check the fixes.
