PTCL has announced that it will officially end all services under the PTCL Vfone brand from 31st August. Vfone was the company’s wireless voice and SMS service which operated under PTCLs wireless Local Loop (WLL) license. The service will now be permanently dismantled.
The decision is probably made as an expansion strategy for the PTCL Evo services which are at the forefront of the company’s product portfolio these days. The dismantling of Vfone will allow PTCL to use the WLL spectrum for its EVO services which are expanding rapidly.
Vfone customers are being notified of this decision and Vfone users in Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad will be provided PTCL landline connections as compensation. However there was a large number of customers who preferred Vfone over PTCL landline because the wireless transmission offered better performance than the wired connections which are prone to technical faults and physical damage quite frequently.
Vfone services also provided a means of communication in areas where landline services are not available so PTCL will lose many customers who do not prefer to switch to PTCL landline. However it is believed that PTCL Vfone was not generating enough revenue for the company and it has only 1.1 million customers compared to 2.9 million landline users.
Update: Now PTCL Vfone service will end on 30th November