ISLAMABAD ( BMZ REPORT )
Pakistan Telecom authority and Mobile phone companies talk failed regarding call setup charges. Mobile phone operators says that Telecom authority have no power to guide us regarding call tariff. While trashing the official directive from PTA, Mobile phone companies are still charging a call setup charges of 12 paisa(including taxes) on each outgoing call even after Pakistan Telecommunication Authority directed them to immediately withdraw the charges.
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, in first week of January 2014 had directed mobile phone companies to withdraw call setup charge by saying that this charge is against the Consumers protection regulation.
However, mobile phone operators have put a deaf ear to the directive and instead told PTA that they won’t be able to take-back the charges that have increased users’ spend by over 8 percent in total.
PTA believes that, as a regulator, it had done its job by asking cellular companies to withdraw the call-setup charges to safeguard the customers. However, the PTA said, it also has to listen to mobile phone companies and their reservations to safeguard the industry.