Islamabad: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has submitted a detailed report to the Senate Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunications' subcommittee, revealing that more than 9,200 incidents of theft and vandalism targeting telecom infrastructure were recorded across the country during the past 11 months. According to the report, these incidents affected nearly 16 percent of the country's cellular infrastructure, disrupting mobile and internet services in several areas. Sindh recorded the highest number of cases, with 3,938 incidents reported across 31 districts, followed by 2,827 incidents in Punjab's 38 districts. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa reported 1,668 cases across 25 districts, while 716 incidents were recorded in Balochistan's 26 districts. The PTA also identified prolonged electricity load shedding as a major challenge to maintaining uninterrupted mobile and internet services. It said the Ministry of IT has taken up the issue of priority electricity supply for telecom infrastructure with power distribution companies. The regulator is also in contact with NEPRA and the Power Division regarding dedicated power feeders and smart transformers. To improve network performance, the PTA said the recent 200 percent increase in available spectrum is expected to significantly enhance service quality. The authority aims to increase average 4G speeds from around 4 Mbps to nearly 20 Mbps, while the initial phase of 5G is expected to deliver speeds of up to 50 Mbps. Mobile operators have committed to installing 1,000 new sites annually, with 20 percent of them planned for previously uncovered locations. Over the past five years, more than 12,000 mobile sites have been installed or upgraded nationwide. The report added that operators have begun phasing out 3G technology while introducing advanced services, including VoLTE, VoWiFi, and Massive MIMO. Expansion of digital connectivity through Universal Service Fund (USF) projects is also continuing, while the introduction of national roaming on highways is under consideration. The PTA has set a target to increase the fiber-to-site ratio from 20 percent to 35 percent and is pursuing an exemption from Right of Way (RoW) charges for telecom infrastructure. Service quality will continue to be monitored through OpenSignal analytics and quarterly key performance indicator (KPI) reviews. To address the growing problem of fuel theft, the PTA has directed all mobile operators to implement comprehensive security measures at telecom towers. The regulator has also strengthened network performance monitoring, expanding downtime oversight after the rollout of 5G to the union council, tehsil, district, and national levels, while making compliance with prescribed network downtime limits mandatory for operators.