QUETTA: PTCL is the only internet service provider in almost all districts of Balochistan, except Quetta. DSL and EVO services are available in most of the districts of Balochistan. Being the largest province of Pakistan, Balochistan is huge in size as it comprises of 43% of land mass of the country. Quetta being the capital is the centre of telecommunications. The farther away a city is from Quetta, the poorer is the quality of internet in it.
Poor quality of internet or its disconnection altogether has virtually ceased life for many internet users in interior Balochistan.
Not a day goes by without people from remote districts of Balochistan complaining about internet disconnection. Internet is disconnected in far-flung districts of Balochistan for several days and in some cases for weeks. Despite repeated complaints no action has been taken by the PTCL management. This is not the case with merely a few districts but at least 25 out of 32 districts of Balochistan are witnessing regular disconnection of internet.
PTCL charges a huge fee for its internet services. People pay these bills regularly as they have no other choice due to monopoly of PTCL in interior Balochistan. Despite receiving all the telephone bills on time, PTCL is unmoved about any complaint registered by users. When people visit the PTCL offices in their districts, the employees plead helplessness and ask them to contact PTCL headquarters directly. PTCL complaint management system takes instant action on complaints made by users in big cities but it doesn’t entertain the complaints of users belonging from remote districts of Balochistan.
The reason for regular and inconvenient disruption in internet service is the outdated infrastructure used by PTCL. The mechanisms with which PTCL connects remote districts with Quetta or Karachi have become obsolete. There is an urgent need to replace that infrastructure so that people can get regular internet service. However that will result in incurring costs and PTCL is not prepared for that. It doesn’t want to reduce its profitability by upgrading the transmission lines.
The irresponsible behaviour of PTCL and apathy of PTA, Balochistan has been disconnected from the world. The tagline of PTCL is “Say Hello to the future,” but it has pushed majority of the internet users in Balochistan to telegram days. The loss caused by disconnection from the world can’t be accurately ascertained in the current age of information. People have to wait for 3G internet services to roll out of Quetta and bring an end to monopoly of PTCL.
