MUZAFFARABAD, July 22: Internet costs could soar by 200 to 300 per cent in the coming weeks in Azad Jammu and Kashmir if the Special Communications Organisation (SCO) continues to increase its charges which are against the policies of the Pakistan Telecom Authority, the association of internet service providers in the AJK warned on Friday.

Ms Jovaria Ali, spokesperson for the association, alleged that the SCO a subsidiary of Pakistan army enjoying monopoly in telecom sector in the AJK, was not providing basic facilities to them as were being provided by the PTCL to their counterparts in Pakistan, that, she said, was the main reason of poor and slow internet services in the state.

The SCO, Ms Ali said, had recently upgraded its network, but the ISPs were not getting any facility to provide high-speed connectivity to their customers at cheap rates.