Senate panel orders probe into telecom overcharging

ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunication has constituted a subcommittee to investigate allegations that Jazz overcharged subscribers by Rs5.83 billion beyond the tariffs approved by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, Dawn reported on Thursday.

The subcommittee will be headed by Senator Dr Afnanullah Khan, the report said. Its terms of reference include examining the alleged overcharging by Jazz and the regulatory action taken by the PTA in the matter.

The decision was taken after what Dawn described as a heated debate between PTA officials and representatives of the Auditor General of Pakistan during the committee's proceedings in Islamabad. The report did not give further details of the exchange or of the evidence presented.

The allegations concern amounts charged to customers above PTA-approved tariffs. The PTA is the federal regulator for telecommunications and sets the rates operators may charge for voice, data and other services. Dawn's standfirst did not include a response from Jazz or from the PTA to the allegations.

The subcommittee will examine whether the amounts charged to customers were in line with the tariffs approved by the PTA and whether the regulator took appropriate action once the alleged overcharging was brought to its notice.

The committee has not announced a timeline for the subcommittee's inquiry. The subcommittee is expected to report back to the committee with its findings.

The Senate committee's move follows consumer complaints about mobile network billing in Pakistan. However, Dawn's report did not provide additional context on the complaints or on any previous regulatory action against Jazz.

No further details were immediately available from the committee or the PTA.