PTML challenges PTA order to suspend ONIC operations

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Telecom Mobile Limited (PTML) has challenged the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority’s (PTA) order directing immediate suspension of commercial operations of its digital telecom service ONIC, taking the regulatory dispute to court.

The PTA had ordered PTML to immediately stop new sales, activations, SIM/eSIM issuance, subscriptions, marketing and commercial operations of ONIC, ruling that the service falls within the Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) framework and cannot operate in its existing form without the requisite regulatory authorisation.

The regulatory order allows PTML three months exclusively to migrate existing ONIC subscribers to PTML to prevent service disruption. It also requires the company to submit a comprehensive compliance report within seven working days of receiving the order.

PTML has challenged the decision in court, contesting the regulator’s determination regarding ONIC’s operating structure and the applicability of the MVNO framework.

The dispute centres on whether ONIC is a digital brand of PTML operating under its existing mobile network operator (MNO) licence or an MVNO-type proposition requiring separate regulatory authorisation.

In its decision following a hearing, the PTA rejected PTML’s position that ONIC was merely its own digital brand, holding that the service’s commercial and operational arrangements exhibited the essential characteristics of an MVNO under the 2025 policy framework.

The Authority noted that while ONIC is a registered PTML brand and uses its network, spectrum and numbering resources, it operates through customised packages, separate customer relationship management (CRM) and billing systems, dedicated digital platforms and customer-care arrangements.

The regulator also highlighted the role of DTMS, a separate entity responsible for significant customer-facing and commercial functions, including marketing, customer acquisition, know-your-customer (KYC) processes, SIM logistics, sales and customer services.

The PTA attached particular significance to the Build-Operate Services Agreement (BOSA), under which DTMS receives 55 percent of relevant revenue during the initial three years, with its share declining subsequently under the agreed schedule.

The Authority held that PTML’s ownership of the ONIC brand and the underlying licensed network did not, by itself, establish regulatory compliance.

It also raised concerns about subscriber information and call-detail records, lawful interception, data localisation and security, SIM issuance and KYC, billing systems, quality of service, disaster recovery, business continuity, mobile number portability and third-party arrangements.

Under the order, PTML must either restructure ONIC as an unequivocal PTML product operating within its existing licence or obtain the requisite MVNO licence if it intends to retain the present operating structure.

The PTA clarified that the three-month period is exclusively for transferring existing subscribers and does not permit ONIC to continue its commercial operations during the transition.

The dispute dates back to June 2023, when PTML notified the PTA of its intention to introduce ONIC as an app-based digital telecom service targeting consumers in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Faisalabad.

In August 2023, the regulator directed PTML not to launch the service until complete information had been provided and evaluated, expressing concern that ONIC’s market presentation could create confusion about its relationship with a licensed cellular operator.

PTML subsequently challenged the direction before the Islamabad High Court. In February 2026, the court converted the petition into a representation and remanded the matter to the PTA for a reasoned decision.

PTML maintained before the regulator that ONIC was not an independent telecom operator or MVNO and that its agreement with DTMS represented an outsourcing and managed-services arrangement. The company argued that subscribers, numbering resources, spectrum and ultimate regulatory responsibility remained with PTML.

The PTA nevertheless concluded that the substance of the commercial and operational arrangements brought ONIC within the MVNO regulatory framework.

The latest court challenge has brought the dispute into a new phase, with the regulatory restrictions on ONIC’s commercial operations and the migration of existing subscribers at the centre of the matter.