THE law and order situation and PTA’s monopoly are some issues faced by telecom operators. The telecom industry, which had a boost in the past years globally, is now facing some serious problems due to no investments.

The telecom industry once was the most developed industry in Pakistan, yielding huge revenue for the state.

There is increased competition within the telecom sector as the usage of mobile phones has shifted from being a symbol of status to a necessity. The influx of customers, especially youths, boosted the companies and better packages were offered.

More and more innovation was required as time passed. This has been an issue for the involved stake holders for years now.

It is hard these days to find investors and provide quality services due to the law and order situation. Mobile services were hampered due to lawlessness in various cities.

A telecom operator faces severe losses when services are hampered. Telecom operator-customer relations are suffering and growing weaker.

Relevant policies are needed for the survival and further uplift of the telecom sector. 3G Technology bidding is expected and one can hope another peak era for the telecom industry if our government and PTA don’t make things worse like they did previously.

The PTA does not seem to be playing any role for the development. Their role for making this industry big and better is nothing as they are creating difficulties and hurdles for all telecom operators by applying useless pressures. This monopoly affects large investments, leading uncertainty in the minds of investors. WARID is going to be one of them.

There is news that the PTA has started blocking some IPs of leading telecom operators and ISP just to create useless pressure; this will lead to the loss of thousands of employees’ losing jobs and revenue.

Suggested measures can be the assurance of quality services through well-informed advertisements. Introduction of positive messages within the state can also be achieved, thus leading to long-term benefits for the companies and a much better coordination with the law and order enforcement agencies is required. This can lead to increased insight about the mutual interest and simultaneously improving the opportunities for companies.

The government needs to take some steps to improve the law and order situation. Government policies and the PTA may play a vital role here to give investors a fair and investment-friendly environment. There is a need to make things easier for investors so that they can be attracted to invest and bring their capital to Pakistan.

SYED SARIM MEHDI Islamabad