It has almost become impossible to get connected to a number in Pakistan on a genuine phone line as most of the time calls made from abroad (UAE in my case) are hijacked and routed through internet channels. One needs to make several attempts before getting a genuine line to the dialed number. I routinely dial a number half-a-dozen times before a legal connection is established. Mostly, calls are hijacked and I am sure a good number of callers even don’t know when it happens.
You can note a few things to make out when your call is routed through the internet and enter grey traffic lanes.
1: Illegal calls take slightly more time to ring a phone in Pakistan.
2: The beep is longer and heavier than a genuine beep.
3: If the call is through, you will experience unusual time lapse in your conversation, similar to VoIP calls (slight delays before you are heard on the other side and vice versa).
4: The call will be noisy and sound weaker.
5: You will get wrong numbers frequently
6: Cell number of both the parties may appear as local numbers in their respective countries.
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**Smuggling in: Analysis of the grey traffic phenomenon **
ISLAMABAD: For those who do not know, grey traffic is smuggling-in of international calls, measured in minutes, through channels other than licensed. It not only means national wealth going into pockets of smugglers, make no mistake, grey traffic is also a threat to national security as a call coming through the grey channel may be nearly impossible to trace back. What is more alarming is that in Pakistan grey traffic is on the rise.
According to Pakistan Telecommunication Authority’s (PTA) annual report, total international incoming call-minutes coming legally in 2011-12 had increased by 109% over the previous year, but decreased in 2012-13 by 26%. Over the last 13 months, international telephone traffic coming through legal channels has plummeted to less than half – from 1 billion minutes in October 2012 to 460.7 million in December 2013.
It is an alarming situation for the government as it is being deprived of millions of dollars by grey traffic operators. On the other hand, it has also become a headache for overseas Pakistanis to get a genuine phone call to their country. While the issue has been there for a long time, the government does not seem much interested in clamping down on the booming business of grey traffic.
It has almost become impossible to get connected to a number in Pakistan on a genuine phone line as most of the time calls made from abroad (UAE in my case) are hijacked and routed through internet channels. One needs to make several attempts before getting a genuine line to the dialed number. I routinely dial a number half-a-dozen times before a legal connection is established. Mostly, calls are hijacked and I am sure a good number of callers even don't know when it happens.
I second that. Every other call to Pakistan is a dud call, or a bad call, and I frequently get comments from the other side, asking me if I am in Pakistan, as the caller ID shows a Pak number.
Grey market started back in the 90s, when Brain Net of Lahore was famously provided underground access to PTCL gateways, thus giving them access to a large batch of landline numbers, which they started selling to customers in the US and Canada for illegal call routing. That graduated to VOIP services, and now, this market thrives with full political participation. Etisalat has gotten back more than what it paid for its shares in PTCL, so they couldnt care less. In the meantime, black marketeers are making a windfall by rerouting calls.
3 3rd party services and my existing provider's long distance service all have same problem what OP mentioned.
I don't even call my provider and fight with them anymore....they keep asking me if i have tried taking the battery out and putting it back and see if issue is resolved. Once i told them i cant take battery out of my phone......we cant help you if you cant take the battery out of the phone or unless i buy a model that allows me to take the battery out.
Few more signs...
Times i get message in urdu that i dont have sufficient balance to make this call.
sometimes message in urdu asks me if i would like to take "loan" of Rs20 to complete this call.
Times i get message in urdu that i dont have sufficient balance to make this call.
sometimes message in urdu asks me if i would like to take "loan" of Rs20 to complete this call.
That's correct. This is because once a foreign call is diverted, it is treated as a local call. It means a call made by a local cell should have sufficient balance to make a call. That's when we hear the message of insufficient balance.
By the way, did you ever take a loan of "Rs20"? Being a true Pakistan, get a loan and become a loan defaulter and improve your chances in politics :)
