May 27, 2006	Saturday	Rabi-us-Sani 28, 1427

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LAHORE, May 26: For the first time, the PTCL has lost more than 70,000 subscribers during any financial year, it is learnt. Official sources told Dawn on Friday that over 70,000 subscribers of the PTCL switched to other cellular and telecom competitors in 2005-O6 owing to ‘unprofessional’ attitude of its administration.

“No response (or belated in some cases) to complaints like out-of-order telephone lines and new connections is the major reason for switching of such a large number of its subscribers to other telecom operators which are offering better services and that, too, for economical packages,” an official said.

However, he pointed out that among those who switched to other services were the subscribers who had benefited from the PTCL’s free phone connection package as long as it was available.

It is learnt that the PTCL’s revenue during the last nine months is 23 per cent less than that of the corresponding period. “The new management has taken a serious view of the decline in the profit and is taking measures to provide better customer service and offering new affordable packages in order to make it (PTCL) a profitable entity,” the official said.

Sources said in Lahore, at least 20,000 applications had been lying pending for new connections for the last several months. The reason given to the applicants for delay was that their areas were dry, not fit for new connection. The dry network areas include Township, Jauhar Town, Defence Housing Authority and Faisal Town, they said.

Widening of roads had rendered hundreds of telephone lines out of order and the subscribers of the PTCL of these areas were forced to switch to other telecom operators, sources said.

“After taking the control of PTCL by a UAE company, there has been an improvement in the Automatic Fault Rectification System and a telephone complaint service number (18),” a senior officer claimed.