So... I had another detailed chat with the guy handling Mobilink's network (the vendor). Key takeaways:
- Mobilink had swapped the Ericsson equipment (Warid) with ZTE/Huawei. And it was said to me that there IS a difference in the vendors - the person gave the example that Ericsson's antennas were able to provide signals on weaker signals vs. the Chinese vendors (I won't get into the example they gave me, but suffice to say, Mobilink - like the other operators - preferred to opt for a cheaper solution rather than a quality solution, as per the guy)
- Telenor was on ZTE. They've partially migrated to Nokia. The source said, in their opinion, that Jazz is surviving because Ericsson's managing their network - but that Ufone is pumping in money because it's a "special project" for Huawei. And - Ufone customers are loyal as well.
- The source ranked the operators in their opinion: (1) Telenor (because of the Nokia swap, which is partially underway) (2) Zong (because last I recall, they were trying to invest and improve their network as well, and because of their 4G coverage, despite not having the same quality signal), (3) Jazz, and (4) do I really need to mention the name?
Also, it turns out that the signals being jammed where I live is not because of Mobilink's shoddy signal strength - something else is interfering within the area (either it's a leak from the other operator's antennas - or some knucklehead is broadcasting some signal) and there really is no way of figuring out how to fix it.
The point of this post? Someone who's responsible for maintaining Mobilink's network KPIs is no longer recommending Mobilink as the first choice simply because they know the inside story. They suggested Telenor because of Nokia and Telenor being smart in their strategy (tap the rural markets, earn from Easypaisa --> use this money to fix the urban markets - which is now Telenor's focus in 2019, as stated by StrikerX), and Zong because... well... maybe market reputation and some random network upgrades? Not that he doesn't NOT recommend Jazz (as in, he has nothing against it), but he says other operators have taken over.
We live in interesting times. I wonder how Telenor's 2G vioce quality is these days, how frequently calls fall back from 3G to 2G, and how bad their data speeds are in Islamabad/Rawalpindi (I don't have CA here since there's only one band 5 signal coming towards our house, and it's weak).