PESHAWAR, Feb 23: Chairman Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Shehzada Alam has said that strict action would be taken against cellular phone companies providing substandard service to consumers.

"Mobile phone companies already carrying out operations will have to improve service in an atmosphere of tough competition when two new international cellular companies launch their services in the coming months", he said while talking to journalists at the newly constructed PTA regional office here on Wednesday.

He said PTA had recently launched a country-wide survey to determine quality of the service being offered by cellular companies. If any company was found short of the requirements mentioned in the agreement with the PTA, strict action would be taken against it accordingly to the rules, he said.

Sources in the PTA told Dawn that one of the three GSM companies had provided a map of the areas of Peshawar where it was providing service before start of a survey in the city.

The map makes no mention of almost half of the Hayatabad township, Ring Road and Charsadda Road. The sources said in fact the company was offering services in the regions not covered by it.

Some companies had already decreased call rates and in the coming days the rates would further decline, he said and added that wireless local loop (WLL) licenses had been issued to some companies and WLL system would enable people in rural and far-flung areas to get telecom facilities.

He said the PTCL had already started WLL service while the Telecard would start it within a month. He said with introduction of WLL service local call rates would drop to 40 paisa a minute. The PTA chief said that deregulation had helped the telecom sector to develop and within the next few months the sector would improve further.