Pakistan has 100 million WhatsApp users sending 12 billion messages a day, PTA chief tells MNAs

WhatsApp has about 100 million users in Pakistan, and they send around 12 billion messages a day, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Chairman Major General (retd) Hafeez ur Rehman told the National Assembly Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecom on Tuesday 3 November, ProPakistani reported.

That is roughly 120 messages per user every day, and it makes Pakistan one of WhatsApp's largest markets anywhere.

Lawmakers: calls drop even in the capital

The numbers came up during a briefing on social media and messaging use, and the committee turned quickly to service quality. One member complained that WhatsApp calls were disconnecting even in Islamabad and asked how operators expected to improve service when users in the biggest cities could not hold a call.

The PTA chairman accepted that there was "considerable room for improvement". He told the committee that:

• the regulator had inspected mobile towers in 41 districts together with the operators to find what was hurting network quality;
• electricity outages were one of the biggest obstacles, because towers lose service when backup power runs out, and better power supply alone would noticeably improve the networks.

Why your WhatsApp call breaks up

A WhatsApp call runs on mobile data, so it depends on the same 4G signal and the same towers as everything else on your phone. When a tower's battery backup runs out during load-shedding, nearby users are pushed to a farther, busier tower and calls start to break. Inside buildings, thick walls make it worse.

What you can do:

• Switch to Wi-Fi calling where you have a stable home connection.
• In WhatsApp settings, under Storage and data, turn on "Use less data for calls" when the signal is weak.
• If one spot in your area always drops calls, complain to your operator first and, if nothing changes in a few days, to the PTA at complaint.pta.gov.pk.

Keep your number, and your account

Accounts on SIMs that have gone inactive are being lost: see our explainer on PTA blocking WhatsApp accounts on inactive SIMs for how to keep yours. If you are buying a phone from abroad, check what registering it will cost on our PTA mobile tax calculator, and see what you really pay on a recharge with the mobile load tax calculator.