The PTA is at odds with long distance operators. What does it mean for your connectivity?

As if not enough is being done to derail the provision of telecom and internet services across Pakistan, a dispute between Long Distance & International (LDI) operators and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) now stands to disrupt the entire digital ecosystem of the country. The PTA, IT ministry and even the all-important Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) have taken urgent notice and are unsuccessfully grappling with possible solutions for the matter. 

As the authorities try to resolve what could be the result of systemic incompetence. The public stands to, once again, lose connectivity.

But what is the issue? At the heart of it lies a regulatory battle over the Access Promotion Contribution (APC), a form of levy introduced in 2003 as part of the country's telecom deregulation policy. But that is not all, taxes on international calls, collected by provincial governments have also been deemed unjust by some of the operators demanding a renewal of their licences, without the imposition of a quid pro quo as intimated by the PTA.