September 16, 2019 — Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) revealed in the session of Senate Committee on IT & Communication that it has issued a notice to Zong over their misleading 5G advertisement. Dr Khawar Siddique Khokhar, member PTA, told the committee that PTA has issued a notice to Zong over their claim of being the only 5G network in Pakistan.
Senator Mian Atiq asked PTA about the criterion to test 5G in Pakistan. Dr. Khawar told the committee that PTA developed a framework in June this year where every network was given permission to test 5G network connectivity in Pakistan. Zong opted to test the network first, however their advertisement was misleading, and was called a marketing gimmick by the PTA.
Senator Mian Atiq raised his suspicions about the whole process of 5G testing. Chairperson of the committee Senator Rubina Khalid directed PTA to issue a press release denouncing Zong’s misleading claims that can potentially mislead the consumers.
Deceptive marketing practices have been prohibited under section 10 of the Competition Act 2010, and non-compliance of orders outlined in the act have been penalised under section 38 of the act.
