Editing Telecommunications in Pakistan (section)

==Perception survey==
[[LIRNEasia]]'s Telecommunications Regulatory Environment (TRE) index summarizes stakeholders’ perception of the regulatory and policy environment and provides insight into how conducive the environment is for further development and progress. The most recent survey was conducted in July 2008 in eight Asian countries, including Pakistan. The tool measured seven dimensions: (i) market entry; (ii) access to scarce resources; (iii) interconnection; (iv) tariff regulation; (v) anti-competitive practices; (vi) universal services; and (vii) quality of service; for the fixed, mobile, and broadband sectors.<ref name="lirneasia_tre"/>

The survey found that in Pakistan the [[Mobile network operator|mobile sector]] was most active, followed by broadband; while the [[Landline|fixed-line]] sector remained somewhat static. The parameters that improved compared to the 2006 survey were [[interconnection]], tariff regulation, regulation of anti-competitive practices, and [[Universal service|universal service obligation]] in the mobile sector; and market entry, interconnection, regulation of anti-competitive practices and universal service obligation in the fixed sector. [[Market entry strategy|Market entry]] received a low score in the mobile sector due to the perception that the cost of a new or renewal mobile license was prohibitive, thus posing a serious barrier to entry. However, this conclusion may have been incorrect, as the license fee, at least in the case of renewal by Mobilink GSM, was paid in installments over a period of three years. Thus, lack of complete information on the part of survey participants may have skewed the results.<ref name="lirneasia_tre">{{cite web|url=http://lirneasia.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/TRE_Pakistan-Final_2009Jan22.pdf|title=Telecom Regulatory and Policy Environment in Pakistan: Results and Analysis of the 2008 TRE Survey |publisher=LIRNEasia |author=Joseph Wilson |date=22 January 2009}}</ref><ref>Pakistan Telecommunications Authority. TQR 7 Dec, page 2.</ref>