KARACHI: Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) has imposed a surcharge of Rs5,000 on its DSL customers who exceed 300 gigabytes in downloads per month with effect from February 1, The Express Tribune learnt on Friday.
The largest broadband service provider is contacting and notifying its DSL customers who exceed 300GB about the newly imposed limit, said Ammara Durrani who is General Manager Public Outreach and Corporate Communication at PTCL.
Responding to a question, Durrani said a very small percentage of users fall in that category and the step is aimed at providing uninterrupted and quality service to the 99% of its customers who will not be affected with this limit, hence only 1% of total users download more than 300 gigabytes.
According to an industry official, when the broadband giant launched its DSL service it had no restrictions on bandwidth to its customers. However, in September 2011 it imposed a surcharge of Rs1,000 on its customers whose internet usage exceeded 50GB, added official.
An average user downloads around 20GB per month, which is very high, said an ISP official. Pakistani users download a lot of data, especially multimedia content, resulting in increased bandwidth consumption – that’s because data usage is determined by both uploads and downloads, something many users don’t even know.
Pakistan, according to sources, has 1.4 million broadband users and that number is increasing every day while internet users in the country are estimated at around 20 million. With the rise in data consumption, other ISPs are also likely to impose similar charges for their broadband users, sources said.
Some ISPs are already charging their customers for additional data usage. Wateen Telecom charges Rs100 per GB of data consumption – in excess of the original package – from its customers.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 4th, 2012.
COMMENTS (13)
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why is internet so expensive in Pakistan? in USA where the average income is much higher, a 12 mb plan with unlimited data download costs like 20-30 dollars per month.
@Saqib use the DU Meter for this purpose....
@ahsan: this 300 gb limitation is only applicable on 1 to 8 MB packages
Hello Tribune & its readers, Please assist me how can i check my downloaded data statistics, Is it available on their site. Just to b known how much i m downloading and how much i had downloaded. Thanks
@ ahsan it does not apply to you..
Note: For Quality Assurance Purposes and to provide uninterrupted service to all customers, Rs. 5,000 per month will be charged for greater than 300 GBs downloads. This is applicable on 1 Mbps to 8 Mbps DSL Connections.
You are @ 10mbps
and i am wow'ed PTCL started 50mbps??
Oops! I hope it is not applicable on Student Package.
i have 10mbs ptcl DSL connection and i divided it in 4 further connections and we use more than 400gb per month....its terrible news for me . now i have to pay 5000 additional..... literally PTCL can't see its costumers happy........ i am going to lose my connection
@ Hatim, CHAI PANI is your own invention, you started that, so dont complain about it, now its a part of every pakistani nature, line man and lower staff are people who are come under below the line of poverty.I can bet if you get a chance for CHAI PAANI you will snatch KHOON PASINA of people. so leave PTCL service instead of complaining.
PTCL has removed the limit of 50GB few days back, its 300 GB now, which is rarely people reaches. So by all mean its Unlimited. Wateen is the most pethatic service giving in Wireless Broadband you can say they have destroyed the image of WIMAX in pakistan, ONE big time flop provider, so far Witribe is much better than wateen in Wireless Broadband (WIMAX), But no doubt PTCL is Giant and have the 95% share in DSl and 91% market share in Wreless broadband in across the country. we have tested all the DSL and Wirelss broadband in all major cities, karachi, Islamabad and lahore. NIYA TEL is good but extremly expensive and small coverage area, whereas PTCL Broadband DSL is most ecnomical and affordable and its 1MB is even faster then 4 mb of other sevice provider, again in PTCL Wireless Broadband (EVO, CDMA tech) is leading in Speed and Coverage area roaming facility is awesome, am using EVO dongle 3.1mbps for the last one and hal year and travelling across pakistan, its my survival.
My PTCL telephone exchange is a mess. It's corrupt the the core. My telephone line goes down every other week and the lineman wants his share of "chai pani." I'm glad I switched to Wateen.
Ms Ammara Durrani General Manager Public Outreach for Corporate Communications it is good to know about the surveillance, metering of data for the internet services. PTCL which after de-regulation acquired majority holdings with management control from Etisalat of UAE. Which provided gateway of fiber link from SEAMEWE to the region for access of internet. This is the biggest advantage Pakistan has given to Etisalat whereby it can earn billions of dollars from its concessions in Pakistan. Broadband Commission at the ITU has set up criteria for member administrations to which our PTCL should adhere the reccomendations. Which is privacy, neutrality. With gateway of Pakistan PTCL will be making billions of dollars which is their privelege. But at least with the poor Pakistani customers the right for privacy, and the quality of network of copper drop wires, hanging all over the streets passing with the electric utility cables which may be a life risk to the maintenance staff, and possible noise to the telephone line for internet, or telephony. Hanging cables with electric utility cables are hazard which may injure ore electric shock to the technician which maintains the lines. Scene on the streets which are impossible to maintain, a CSR issue of PTCL. Earlier few months before PTCL increase call rates were increased by Rs.0.10 per call quietly. Etisalat which is the only international operator in Pakistan operating in India by the name of Swan Telecom., Suggest please look to the last mile issue, as Fiber to the Home FTTH is the only issue which may possibly a way to compliance for network for quality of service reccomended by the Broadband Commission, ITU.
Justified. bcz the cable operators/loop holders who have made it sublets are charging a reasonable monthly rental from its customers.
Justifiable. Think about 300 gb. It's like downloading 300 movies a month if one movie is around 1 gb.
How else can one use 300 gb. of bandwidth. Not by your regular YouTube, email, skype, Facebook and surfing here and there.
When they started they needed to capture market share so they let things slide. Now that they've succeeded in capturing a large share of the market they can do whatever they like. If only there were more land line operators in Pakistan. PTCL's monopoly is holding Pakistan back! Internet connections are measured in 10s of Mbps in other countries. Its only in Pakistan that we measure them in single digit Mbps and most people get barely that what with the terrible infrastructure and all.