Anti-competitive practices
PTCL has faced allegations and rulings related to anti-competitive practices over the years, especially in the Islamabad-Rawalpindi region and in its broader telecom operations.
In 2006, PTCL cut Nayatel's E1 link at a colocation site despite Nayatel fulfilling its interconnect agreement obligations.[33]
In November 2010, LINKdotNET (part of Mobilink, now Jazz) and Micronet Broadband (then trading as Nayatel) filed complaints alleging PTCL overcharged bandwidth to competing ISPs while subsidizing its own DSL tariffs to undercut rivals.[34][35]
In 2016, PTCL and Bahria Town tried to block ISPs from deploying fiber infrastructure in Bahria Town, effectively preserving a monopoly in that locality. The Competition Commission of Pakistan issued a show-cause notice, levied a PKR 2 million fine on Bahria Town, and ordered it to allow ISPs including Nayatel to lay fiber networks.[36][37]
On 14 February 2024, Nayatel lodged a complaint with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), alleging that PTCL blocked its IP traffic after Nayatel changed its bandwidth sourcing model to purchase from authorized resellers (such as Telenor Pakistan and Zong CMPak), hence bypassing direct PTCL bandwidth contracts. PTCL reportedly refused to route Nayatel's traffic when bandwidth was purchased via resellers.[38]
In more recent scrutiny, the Competition Appellate Tribunal upheld CCP's earlier ruling against PTCL and other Long Distance International (LDI) operators regarding the International Clearing House (ICH) arrangement (2012), which had centralized inbound international calls via PTCL's gateway. The Tribunal reduced the penalty rate to 2 % of turnover from ICH operations but confirmed its anti-competitive nature.[39]
As of September 2025, the CCP has publicly accused PTCL of withholding data, delaying disclosures, and blocking regulatory scrutiny during the PTCL-Telenor merger process claiming that PTCL has a pattern of challenging PTA decisions in court, delaying interconnect obligations, and abusing dominance in multiple telecom segments.[40] Furthermore, CCP announced recovery of Rs 495 million in penalties from PTCL and LINKdotNET in the ICH case of which Rs 458 million was from PTCL, confirming enforcement of its antitrust rulings.[41]
