Islamabad: The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) has announced that the country has enough internet capacity to deal with increased demand amid coronavirus lockdown.
In a statement issued on social media, PTA clarified that, “There is sufficient internet capacity available in the country to meet the growing demands of the future. PTA has been closely monitoring the internet usage patterns so as to ensure that fast & efficient telecom services remain available to the consumers in this difficult time.”
Moreover, PTA has initiated a coronavirus awareness campaign via text messages, and more than 336 million text messages have been sent to users in various regional languages.
“More than 366 million awareness messages have been sent on PTA’s directions in English, Urdu, Sindhi, Punjabi, Balochi & Pashto,” the statement said.
PTA has also directed mobile phone operators to replace standard ring back tone (heard by caller when call is being made) with awareness messages about COVID-19 preventive measures.
Earlier, PTA had announced a 15 per cent surge in internet consumption due to increased online activity by educational institutions and various businesses, as a nation-wide lockdown has been imposed due to coronavirus outbreak in the country.