Is Onic Shutting Down? What PTA's Order Means for Your Number

Onic is not switching off overnight, and your number is not being cancelled. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has ordered PTML, the company that runs Ufone, to stop selling new Onic SIMs and to end Onic in its current form, according to Business Recorder. Existing Onic customers are to be moved to PTML within three months.

The order was reported on 15 September 2026. We could not find it on PTA's own website on the same day, and neither onic.pk nor ufone.com showed any notice about it when we checked. So the details below are reported, and we say where each one comes from.

What the PTA order says, as reported

In short: if you already use Onic, the order is written so that your service carries on while you are moved across. If you were planning to buy an Onic SIM, you should not be able to get one now.

Why PTA acted against Onic

The dispute is about what kind of service Onic is. There are two types of mobile company in Pakistan that matter here:

• A mobile network operator (MNO) owns a licence and a network. Jazz, Zong, Telenor and Ufone are MNOs.
• A mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) sells mobile service under its own brand while using another company's network. It needs its own licence.

According to Business Recorder, PTA decided that Onic is an MVNO under the MVNO Policy Framework 2025, and so it cannot continue without an MVNO licence. The report says PTA found that Onic runs as a separate digital offer, with its own packages, its own customer and billing systems, and its own apps and customer care. It also says a separate company, DTMS, handles marketing, sales, customer checks, SIM delivery and customer service, and receives 55 per cent of the relevant revenue for the first three years under its agreement with PTML.

PTML's position, as reported, was that Onic is simply its own brand and that the numbers, spectrum and customers stay with PTML. The report says PTA did not accept that.

PTA also raised questions, according to the report, about customer identity checks, call records, lawful interception, keeping data inside Pakistan, backup and disaster recovery, and number portability. These are regulatory concerns listed in the order. They are not findings that any customer's data was misused, and we have seen no report saying so.

How this started in 2023

This is not new. PTA's own website still carries a clarification dated 11 August 2023. We read it. It says no new operator had been given a mobile licence, that PTML, which already owns Ufone, intended to launch Onic as a new digital product, and that PTA had advised PTML to meet all regulatory requirements.

The later steps are reported. PTML told PTA about Onic in June 2023, PTA directed in August 2023 that it should not launch until full information was given, and PTML went to the Islamabad High Court. In February 2026 the court sent the matter back to PTA to decide, and this order is that decision.

PTA's homepage now also carries a notice that it has opened MVNO licensing in Pakistan. Business Recorder reports the national MVNO licence fee under the 2025 framework as 140,000 dollars, against 5 million dollars under the 2012 rules. So one route open to PTML is to license Onic properly.

What happens to your Onic number

Based on what has been reported, here is what to expect and what to do.

1. Keep using your SIM. Nothing reported says service stops today. The three months are meant to prevent a break in service.
2. Wait for an official message. The move is PTML's job. Watch for an SMS or app notice from Onic or Ufone, and for a statement on onic.pk or ufone.com.
3. Save your balance and bundle details now. Take screenshots in the Onic app of your balance, remaining data and bundle end date, so you can raise a complaint if anything is lost in the move.
4. Do not recharge a long bundle in advance. Until the terms of the move are published, a shorter bundle limits what is at stake.
5. Check the SIM is on your own CNIC. A move is simpler when the number is registered to you. Our guide to checking SIMs registered on your CNIC shows how.

What we do not know yet: whether your Onic packages will carry over, what the prices will be after the move, and whether the Onic app will keep working. PTML had not said anything publicly when we checked. We will not guess.

If you want to leave Onic instead

You do not have to wait. There are two ways out, and the choice decides whether you keep your number.

Keep your number on another network. Pakistan's Mobile Number Portability Regulations, 2005, published in the Gazette, let you take a number issued in your name to any licensed mobile network. You apply at the new network, not at Onic. We read the regulations. Among other things, they say:

• You apply to the new operator, which arranges the move with the old one.
• Only one porting request can be open for a number at a time.
• The time with no service during the switch must not be more than one working day.
• The old operator can refuse or hold the request if you have unpaid dues or a contract period that has not ended.
• The applicant must be the registered owner or legitimate user of the number.

Biometric verification is required for porting, as our SIM card rules guide explains, so take your original CNIC. We could not confirm whether porting out of Onic is being processed normally this week, so ask the new network before you visit.

Close the account and give up the number. Onic's own support page says you request termination by live chat or call, then visit a designated PTCL Ufone joint shop, where you complete biometric verification. It says termination is final, and the number goes into a 180 day quarantine before it is released. Only do this if you do not need the number, because banks, WhatsApp and one time passwords are often tied to it.

Watch out for migration scams

News like this is often followed by fraud calls. Someone may call claiming to be from Onic, Ufone or PTA and say your number will be blocked unless you "verify" it.

• Never share an OTP or any code sent to your phone.
• Never give a biometric thumbprint at a stall or at home. Biometrics are done at an official franchise or shop.
• No one needs your bank or wallet PIN to move your SIM.
• Hang up and check the official helplines yourself. Our list of verified telecom helpline numbers helps.

If you lose service or balance during the move, complain to the operator first and keep the complaint number. If it is not fixed, take it to PTA using our PTA complaint guide. If your SIM is blocked by mistake, see how to restore a blocked SIM.

Common questions

Is Onic shutting down?

Onic in its current form is being ended by PTA's order, as reported. New sales stop now, and existing users are to be moved to PTML within three months. PTML could still bring Onic back as a PTML brand or under a licence.

Why is PTA closing Onic?

According to the report, PTA decided Onic works as a mobile virtual network operator, which needs its own licence, and that PTML could not run it without one.

Will I lose my Onic number?

Nothing reported says so. The order is reported to give PTML three months to move existing customers across, which is meant to protect them from losing service.

Can I still buy an Onic SIM?

No. The order reportedly stops new SIM and eSIM issuance and activations immediately.

What happens to my Onic balance?

Neither PTML nor Onic has said yet. Keep screenshots of your balance and bundles as a record.

Has Onic or Ufone said anything?

Not when we checked onic.pk and ufone.com on 15 September 2026. The only notice on onic.pk was about a price change from 25 March 2026.

Last checked and sources

Last checked 15 September 2026. The order itself, including the halt on new sales, the three month migration window, the seven working day compliance report, PTA's finding that Onic is an MVNO under the MVNO Policy Framework 2025, the role of DTMS and its 55 per cent revenue share, the regulatory concerns, PTML's two options, the licence fees of 140,000 dollars and 5 million dollars, and the 2023 to 2026 history including the Islamabad High Court remand, is reported by Business Recorder on 15 September 2026 and also covered by TechJuice. We could not find the order on pta.gov.pk that day, so all of it is marked as reported. Read at source: PTA's clarification of 11 August 2023 on pta.gov.pk, and the notice on PTA's homepage that MVNO licensing has opened; the Mobile Number Portability Regulations, 2005, in the Gazette of Pakistan of 3 August 2005, on PTA's site; and Onic's own support article on closing an account. We checked onic.pk and ufone.com and found no notice about the order. PTML had not made a public statement when we checked. We make no claim about how Onic handled customer data; the concerns listed are those reported from the regulator's order.