ISLAMABAD, Jan 27: Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Chairman Shahzada Alam Malik on Thursday said the authority expected increase in the number of cell phone subscribers by 15 million by the year end with overall tele density touching 10 per cent compared to the current 5.5 per cent.

He was speaking at a seminar organized by the PTA on "Wireless Local Loop (WLL) service" with special reference to implementation of limited mobility and related quality issues here at a local hotel.

The seminar aimed at seeking views of the operators concerned and telecom experts to enable the PTA to come up with a positive and practicable solution to effectively tackle various related issues.

The PTA would also conduct a survey on the quality of services being provided by the cell phone operators from February 1, the chairman announced. The result of survey, he said, would be announced in March and any company failing to meet the required standards would be dealt with in accordance with the laid down procedure.

The PTA would never compromise on quality of service, he emphasized. He said the authority had made full preparation for evaluating quality of service of the companies.He said conducive atmosphere and consistent regulatory framework had led to increase in the number of cell phone subscribers up to 8.2 million against hardly three million in 2003.

Appropriate mechanism has also been devised in consultation with the Ministry of Interior, the National Database and Registration Authority and cell phone companies for verification of subscribers' data for obtaining new cell phone connection without causing any inconvenience to the intending subscribers, he said.

The chairman said the authority would minutely evaluate the issues and problems concerning the newly-launched WLL service and related quality issues after taking into account the interest of consumers and growth of telecom industry.

He said the WLL technology was best suited to Pakistan's environment keeping in view the fact that about 70 per cent of the population was living in rural and remote areas.

The introduction of WLL service had brought into focus the scope of limited mobility in WLL network that could have direct bearing on different sectors of telecom industry, particularly the cellular mobile services, Mr Malik.

The grant of new licences for cellular and fixed line telephony, including WLL service, had substantially contributed to increasing tele density, offering more choices of operators and drastic reduction in tariff to the service users, he said.

A number of problems, including limited mobility, coordination at regional boundaries, transmission of data, tariff regulations and removable user identity module are likely to emerge following the introduction of WLL technology, he said.

The chairman also asked the participants to give their comments and suggestions for skill ful handling of various problems in accordance with the Telecom Deregulation Policy.

Referring to mobile number portability, he said the issue was under active consideration of the PTA and the facility would be made available to the subscribers after due process and considering pros and cons of the issue.

Mashkoor Hussain from the Pakistan Telecommunication Company, Dr Mohammad Saleem Mian from the UET, Lahore, and representatives of cell phone companies also gave presentations focusing on different aspects of WLL service.

The main areas highlighted were regulatory framework, technical issues, maintaining quality of service, connectivity and coverage of different areas, availability of voice and data communication to the rural community, tariff structure and impact of the service on socio-economic uplift of the country.

The participants evinced keen interest in the proceedings of the seminar and expressed their opinion. The seminar was largely attended by telecom professionals, experts and service providers.