PTCL Fails to Retain its Landline Subscribers

Pakistan Telecommunication Limited Company (PTCL) landline phone connections have been diminishing in the country as consumers found it useless to have a telephony service with high line rent and call rates.

The landline operator subscribers’ base has contracted steeply despite multiple offers of bundle packages that include broadband, free minutes and reduced tariff rates on nationwide calls.

According to the latest available statistics of Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), PTCL has lost its 11.8 percent in the outgoing financial year 2010-11, which translates into more than 0.387 million users.

According to the officials, the subscribers’ base has failed to retain its customers particularly in the past six months after the company had hiked the fixed line rent by 14 percent to Rs 199 per month excluding multiple taxes.

The reported subscribers’ numbers stood at 2.88 million by June-end of 2011 however the number of users has been reduced to much lower in different parts of the city,

Official said the customers have got their connection disconnected in small and big cities but the service of landline is still very much reliable in cities having offices of public and private sector companies.

The local on-net calls are revised at Re 1 per minute; whereas the off-net call rates are fixed Rs 2 for 3 minutes.

The long distance (NWD) on-net calls set at Re 1 per minute whereas off-net calls are fixed at Rs 2 per minutes.

The PTCL call charges to any mobile network have been fixed at Rs 2.50 per minute, according to approved tariffs by PTA.

The charges of phone directory call remained Rs 2 per call at 1217 whereas the calls made to complain are free of cost.

PTCL revised tariffs include new connection charges set separately for urban areas at Rs 750 and Rs 500 for rural areas.

On the contrary, different landline operators have widened their subscribers’ base in the areas of service.

The number of NTC’s connection has increased to 1.05 million by June 2011 as compared with 1.05 million in 2010.

The number of Brain Limited’s connection has increased to 13,280 by June 2011 as compared with 11,267 in 2010.

The number of World Call’s connection has increased to 10,085 by June 2011 as compared with 9,874.

The overall fixedline subscribers’ number stood at 3.016 million by June 2011, which were recorded 3.4 million in June 2010. The fixedline connections were registered highest number of connections in June 2005 when the subscribers stood at 5.27 million.