Heratis resent slow-paced, high-cost internet

HERAT CITY (Pajhwok): A number of residents of western Herat province have complained about what they call the high price but low quality of the internet service.

They claim the services offered by telecom companies in the province are not only poor but also expensive at the same time.

They grumble the money they pay to telecom companies for the internet service or activating packages are wasted because the internet speed is annoyingly slow.  The problem continues to evoke a string of complaints, which are yet to be addressed.

Speaking to Pajhwok Afghan News, resident Naqibullah Haqmal said he had been using internet services for years, but its packages did not work as they were sold to customers of telecom firms.

Haqmal commented: “What the telecom companies sell us in the name of 4G package works only at the speed of 3G or 2G packages.”

He asked the relevant authorities to rationalise the price of internet services, keeping in view its consistently slow clip.

Sanaullah, another internet user, said he was frustrated by the shabby service quality and prohibitively high cost.

“We want the Afghanistan’s Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (ATRA) to pay serious attention to the speed and quality,” he added.

According to Sanaullah, since the number of internet subscribers is pretty high, services providers must increase its speed. Today, he observed, the internet had a significant impact on businesses.

With regard to growing subscriber complaints, telecom officials say there are multiple reasons for the sluggish internet pace.

IT technician Gul Mohammad Paiman told Pajhwok there could be a variety of reasons for the slow internet speed.

He listed inferior parts of cell phone sets, congested Wi-Fi lines, inappropriate router locations, simultaneous use of several programmes, use of filter breakers, etc. as some of the factors.

Paiman stressed: “We must know how to use internet services properly and we must expect proper level of services from service provider via SIM cards or Wi-Fi.”

However ATRA officials acknowledged the issue of low internet speed, saying efforts were underway to address the problem.

ATRA Director for Western Zone Maulvi Baz Mohammad Sarwari confirmed receiving a barrage of complaints about the price and quality of internet. The authority had taken the necessary measures to reach the complaints, he said.

“In order to ensure better service provision, all service-providing centres in Herat were monitored four times a year. If any problem is noticed, we report it to the Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology (MoTIT) and follow it up with the service-provider.”

Such measures were taken last year as well and the Roshan Telecommunication Company was asked to activate 30 new service sites in Herat City, which played an effective role in improving telecom services, Sarwari explained.

Alongside the telecommunication companies, dozens of other internet service-providers also operate in the province.

aw/mud