The Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) is cutting off internet and telecom infrastructure cables around Lahore without any authorization or prior warning.
These cable cuts have been spotted around key areas of Lahore, including Garden Town, Johar Town, Gulberg, Cavalry Ground and Walton Road.
These actions have caused major internet, essential telecom, and digital services outages for both corporate and retail clients in Lahore, causing significant business disruptions and financial losses.
This is because LESCO has been demanding self-imposed and unjustified increases (400%) in RoW charges for the use of poles holding internet and telecom cables. LESCO has also been requiring telecom operators, including PTCL and NTC, to sign LESCO’s own undertaking letters, terms which are not aligned with the Government of Pakistan’s approved RoW Policy (2020) or the Prime Minister’s Digital Pakistan vision.
As a result, the Pakistan Telecommunication Access Providers Association (PTAPA) has written a formal letter to LESCO’s CEO, PTA chairman, Secretary at MoIT, Deputy Commissioner, and the Zonal Director at PTA, urging them to:
- Immediately stop the ongoing disconnection and damage of the IT & Telecom fiber infrastructure by LESCO officials.
- Engage with licensed telecom operators through proper consultation and coordination mechanisms to avoid such incidents in the future.
- Ensure continuity of essential telecom and digital services across Lahore in accordance with the Government’s approved RoW policy and the national goal of a Digital Pakistan.
The letter ends by warning LESCO yet again that their actions directly violate the Prime Minister’s vision of “Digital Pakistan” and the Government of Pakistan’s approved Right of Way (RoW) Policy 2020, under which organizations such as CDA, Pakistan Railways, and NHA have already permitted free RoW for IT & Telecom infrastructure development.