Pakistan’s telecom sector could face tighter competition oversight under proposed rules that would give regulators a broader framework for identifying operators with Significant Market Power (SMP).
Under the proposed Telecommunication Competition Rules, 2026, a telecom licensee with more than 25 percent of the relevant market, measured through sectoral revenues, may be presumed to have Significant Market Power. However, crossing the 25 percent threshold would not automatically settle the question, as the proposed framework allows other market and competitive conditions to be examined before a final determination.
The draft rules have been prepared by the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication with the objective of establishing a framework for fair competition and addressing practices that could restrict competition in Pakistan’s telecommunications industry.
How PTA Could Determine Market Power
The proposed framework would move beyond simply looking at an operator’s market share.
PTA could consider several factors when assessing whether a telecom company has significant market power. These include overall market concentration, control over essential infrastructure, spectrum holdings, economies of scale, vertical integration and barriers that could make it difficult for new competitors to enter or expand.
The assessment could also take into account an operator’s financial and technical resources, access to subscribers and distribution networks, network effects, buyer power and demand conditions.
Other considerations could include excess profitability, non-price competition and the possibility of coordinated conduct between market participants.
This broader assessment means that market share would serve as an important indicator rather than being the sole factor determining whether an operator has SMP.
Possible Tariff and Pricing Controls
Telecom operators ultimately designated as having Significant Market Power could be subject to additional regulatory obligations.
The proposed measures include potential oversight of tariffs and pricing, along with requirements relating to transparency and non-discrimination.
The framework could also impose obligations concerning interconnection and access services, reference offers, infrastructure access, accounting separation and cost accounting. Operators with control over essential facilities could face requirements to provide access on fair and reasonable terms where necessary to support competition.
These provisions are intended to give the regulator tools to address market conditions where a company’s position could have a significant effect on competitors or access to telecom services.
Rules Could Be Reviewed as Markets Change
The proposed framework would also allow relevant telecom markets to be reviewed periodically.
This would give the regulator an opportunity to reconsider an operator’s SMP status as market shares, technology, infrastructure, consumer behaviour and competitive conditions change.
Such periodic assessments could be particularly relevant in a rapidly changing telecom market, where mergers, acquisitions, network expansion and new technologies can alter the competitive landscape.
Telecom Competition Rules Are Still Not Final
Despite the latest proposals, Pakistan does not yet have a finalised Telecommunication Competition Rules, 2026 framework.
According to information presented to the Senate earlier this year, the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication prepared the draft rules and shared them with PTA for comments. The ministry sent an amended draft to PTA on July 7, 2026, while PTA submitted its comments on July 27. The matter remained pending with the ministry.
The development of the rules has also been complicated by a jurisdictional dispute between PTA and the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP).
The disagreement concerns which institution has legal authority over competition-related matters in the telecommunications sector. PTA has maintained that its powers under the Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organization) Act, 1996, give it a role in telecom competition matters, while the Ministry of IT has taken a different position on PTA’s jurisdiction. PTA has challenged an Islamabad High Court ruling on the matter before the Supreme Court, where the issue remains pending.
The effort to establish dedicated telecom competition rules is also not new. Earlier work on such a framework dates back to amendments made in 2006, while an earlier draft titled the Pakistan Telecommunication Fair Competition Rules was circulated in 2009 without resulting in a final notified framework.
For telecom companies, the proposed 25 percent SMP threshold and broader market assessment could mean closer regulatory scrutiny if the rules are eventually adopted.
For consumers, the eventual framework could affect how telecom operators are regulated in areas such as pricing, access, interconnection and competition. However, the actual impact will depend on the final rules, their implementation and the outcome of the ongoing regulatory and legal questions.
As of September 2026, the proposed Telecommunication Competition Rules remain under consideration and have not yet become a final sector-wide framework.
