Now it is not a new deal anymore. Every time there is some critical activity or a religious event expected in Pakistan, the cellular services are jammed. This might help the government in curbing restlessness or terrorism but this also deeply impacts the normal citizens who are not able to function properly as their lives are disrupted.
While the former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz who have been charged with corruption will be landing at Islamabad Airport today at 6 pm, Government has suspended all the mobile network services in Lahore to ensure the protests cannot be carried out.
What Government needs to realize is that citizens are really going through a lot of hassle as a result of this network jam:
1. You can’t order a ride-hailing service
If you need to go somewhere and you do not have the conveyance of your own, then you cannot order a ride-hailing service in such a scenario as the riders rely on mobile internet data to get a ride and use GPS. Uber, Careem or Shahi Sawari, name a ride-hailing service, and it can’t work because the mobile infrastructure is the backbone of all of these services.
2. You can’t order food
So, if you are at office wanting to eat something and did not bring lunch from home, then you might have to starve till you reach home because you cannot call the restaurant to place an order. Or you can’t order through online food delivery service because the riders use mobiles to move back and forth and coordinate with customers.
3. You can’t use google maps if you are stuck somewhere
If you are someone like me, who is bad with remembering routes and depend on Google maps to reach somewhere, then you are going to have a very hard time reaching your destination. Because you can’t use data.
4. You can’t even use ATM/Debit cards at shops
So, if you do not have cash and need to buy something really REALLY important, you might have to do without it until the network gets restored. Yes, although we are trying to move towards a cashless economy yet we have a long long way to go.
5. Most of the times ATM’s don’t work
So, if you are running out of cash then you cannot even avail the ATM service as ATM’s won’t probably work as well and then you literally need a miracle to save your day. I, myself, am a first-hand victim of this. Right now, I tried 3 ATMs but all are out of order.
6. You can’t do micro-payments through mobile
Pakistan is a country where the certain segment of the population uses micropayment methods such as EasyPaisa, JazzCash, SimSim for making payments or transferring money. If you are running a business where you use micro-payments as a payment mode, then you will not be able to work during the downtime.
7. You can’t use Wingle and MiFi devices
So, luck is not really on your side too if you are using Wingle and MiFi devices for connecting to internet. That will definitely be the biggest test of your patience as these devices utilize the mobile network for internet.
There are other alternatives that can be adopted to ensure that no protests are carried out in case of critical scenarios such as political instability in the country. The government can launch a PR campaign and through Public Service messages, the government can educate the masses about the consequences of protests. The Government can also improve the law and order situation to make sure that citizens do not act hysterically and violently and cause any disruption in the traffic
