PTA QoS Survey: Most Broadband Operators Meet Speed and Latency Standards Across 21 Cities

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has released the findings of its third-quarter 2026 Fixed Broadband Quality of Service (QoS) Survey, reporting that most fixed-line broadband operators met prescribed service quality standards across 21 cities. According to the regulator, every operator assessed during the review complied with the required internet speed and latency benchmarks.

The survey, conducted between July 1 and September 30, 2026, evaluated 28 operator-location entries covering 23 distinct broadband providers. Seven performance indicators were examined, including network availability, bandwidth utilisation, local and international latency, jitter, and download and upload speeds. Of the 28 entries assessed, 15 achieved full compliance across all seven indicators, while the remaining 13 met six of the seven benchmarks.

All surveyed providers satisfied the PTA's minimum download and upload speed requirements of 4 Mbps and 2 Mbps respectively. They also stayed within the prescribed latency limits of 40 milliseconds for local connections and 110 milliseconds for international terrestrial links. The regulator added that a majority of operators kept jitter below the 15 millisecond threshold.

The report nevertheless flagged bandwidth utilisation above the prescribed 80 percent limit at several locations, warning that this could slow internet speeds during peak hours. In Abbottabad, one company failed to meet both network availability benchmarks, recording 99.73 percent core network availability against a required 99.9 percent and 97.13 percent access network availability against a required 99 percent.

A separate service in Vehari recorded jitter of 40.61 milliseconds, well above the prescribed 15 millisecond limit. The PTA advised operators exceeding bandwidth utilisation limits to expand network capacity, and urged providers that fell short on other indicators to take corrective measures to improve service quality.

The quarterly survey is part of the regulator's ongoing effort to monitor broadband performance and hold operators accountable for service standards. The findings suggest that while baseline speed and latency requirements are being broadly met, capacity planning and reliability at certain locations remain areas requiring attention.