Pakistan's Draft Telecom Competition Rules 2026: What PTA Wants Changed
A draft would call any telecom operator with over 25% of a market dominant. See what PTA asked to change and what it means for your bill. Read the facts.
Pakistan still has no dedicated telecom competition rules, and a 2026 draft would let PTA treat any operator with more than 25 per cent of a market's revenue as presumed dominant. It is a draft, not law, and nothing in it changes your bill today.
The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication wrote the draft Telecommunication Competition Rules, 2026. The regulator has sent in comments three times this year, and the latest asks for more power over mergers and market reviews. We could not read the draft itself, so everything below is reported.
What the draft would do
The draft sets out how PTA would spot an operator with too much market power and what it could then order. It would let PTA control prices, demand openness, and force sharing of networks. It has not been notified, so none of this applies yet.
| Item | What is reported |
|---|---|
| Who wrote it | The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication |
| Status | Draft, still under comment |
| Dominance test | More than 25 per cent of revenue in a relevant market creates a presumption of significant market power |
| Can the test be challenged | Yes, the presumption can be rebutted either way |
| Possible duties for a dominant operator | Price and tariff controls, more transparency, separate accounts, access to networks, wholesale services, national roaming |
The factors PTA would weigh are market concentration, spectrum holdings, financial and technical strength, control over essential infrastructure, reach to subscribers and distribution, economies of scale, vertical integration, entry barriers and network effects.
What PTA has asked to change
PTA wants two things added. First, relevant markets should be reviewed from time to time and redefined when conditions change. Second, it wants the one-year limit removed on reopening its own merger and deal approvals. Both asks are reported, not read by us.
The ministry's draft lets PTA review, revise, modify or withdraw an approval within one year of issuing it. PTA asked for wording that lets it reconsider "as and when required". That would apply to mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, spectrum consolidation and transfers of control, wherever they could hurt competition or consumers.
Operators will not like an open-ended right to reopen a deal. They would say it makes a signed transaction harder to rely on. Consumers may see it differently, because it keeps a door open if a merger turns out badly.
Why the rules have taken ten years
The Telecom Policy 2015 gave the ministry the job of writing these rules, and PTA sent a first draft in 2016. They stalled because the ministry and the Competition Commission of Pakistan disagreed over who has the legal power to make competition rules for telecom.
In November 2025, the Islamabad High Court reportedly upheld the Competition Commission's jurisdiction over competition and deceptive marketing in telecom. It dismissed petitions from the mobile operators and PTCL. The court said the Competition Act 2010 and the Telecommunication Act 1996 work side by side.
That ruling settled the legal argument but not the paperwork. The ministry circulated a revised draft in January 2026. PTA commented in March. A new draft followed on 7 July, and PTA replied on 27 July. The latest reported comments surfaced in the last days of September and early October.
Why it matters after the Telenor merger
The market now has three big mobile operators instead of four. It is reported that Jazz and the merged PTCL business hold more than 72 per cent of mobile subscribers between them, with Zong near 26 per cent. We have not checked those shares against PTA data.
Our report on the PTCL and Telenor merger covers how that deal came about. The Competition Commission is reported to have approved it with conditions, including five years of independent monitoring.
On the dominance test, a single operator above 25 per cent in a defined market would be presumed to have market power. Market definitions matter here. A market could be mobile data, wholesale access or something narrower, and the answer changes with the definition.
What this means for your mobile bill
Nothing changes today. If the rules pass as drafted, PTA could one day limit tariffs for a dominant operator. That is a possible tool, not a promise, and no final text or start date has been reported.
Prices are the real worry for most people. Our figures on how much mobile packages have gone up in a year show why. Until rules exist, you can still compare plans with PTA's price tracker.
- Treat the rules as a draft until a notification appears on PTA's or the ministry's website.
- Compare your package against others on PTA's tariff tracker before you renew.
- Keep screenshots of any price change and the date you were told.
- Complain to your operator in writing first if a charge looks wrong.
- Take it to PTA only if the operator's reply does not fix it.
The route for the last two steps is set out in the guide to complaining to PTA about your mobile network.
What is still unknown
Several points are open. We do not know the final threshold, whether PTA's two asks will survive, who will enforce the rules, or when they will be notified. We also do not know how the draft fits with the Competition Commission's own powers.
The ministry has not, as far as we can see, put the draft in front of the public on its main page. We looked at the ministry's website front page on 8 October 2026 and did not see it listed. PTA's notices list would not load for us, so it may be there.
Common questions
Are the Telecommunication Competition Rules 2026 in force?
No. They are a draft prepared by the ministry. PTA has sent comments, and no notified final text has been reported.
What does the 25 per cent figure mean?
An operator with more than 25 per cent of revenue in a relevant market would be presumed to have significant market power. The presumption can be challenged.
Will mobile packages get cheaper?
Nobody can say yet. The draft lists tariff controls as a possible duty for a dominant operator, but it is not law and no start date is known.
Who has power over telecom competition, PTA or the Competition Commission?
The Islamabad High Court reportedly upheld the Competition Commission's jurisdiction in November 2025. The Telecommunication Act still gives PTA technical and operational powers.
What did PTA ask to change?
It asked for regular reviews of relevant telecom markets and for the one-year limit on reconsidering merger and deal approvals to be removed.
How we verified this
What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.
Last checked 8 October 2026. We could not read the draft Telecommunication Competition Rules, 2026, or PTA's comments on it, on an official page. We opened the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication website at moitt.gov.pk on 8 October 2026 and saw no competition rules listed on its front page. PTA's notices and press release pages did not show their lists when we opened them, so we cannot say the documents are absent. Everything about the draft is therefore reported: the ministry's drafts of January and 7 July 2026, PTA's comments of March and 27 July 2026, the 25 per cent revenue presumption, the list of possible duties, PTA's two requests, the Islamabad High Court ruling of November 2025, the shares of the three mobile operators and the conditions on the Telenor merger. Check moitt.gov.pk and pta.gov.pk for the text before relying on any detail, and treat the dates above as reported.
About the author
Technology Journalist & Multimedia Producer
Ahmad Ali is a technology journalist and multimedia producer at Pakistan Era, joining the team in October 2026. He covers consumer technology and digital life for Pakistani readers, combining research with hands-on product testing.
