Will Ufone Become Etisalat? What e&'s Name Change Means in Pakistan

The UAE group known as e&, which manages PTCL and Ufone, went back to its old name, etisalat, on 5 October 2026. Nothing has changed yet for Ufone, Telenor or PTCL customers in Pakistan. Your SIM, number, balance and package stay the same. No Pakistani company has announced a new name.

The news matters here because of an unfinished story. The merged Ufone and Telenor Pakistan business had planned to rebrand as e&, and that plan was reportedly halted by the federal government in late July 2026. The name it wanted has now been dropped by its own owner.

We read etisalat's own announcement and checked Ufone's website on 9 October 2026. Here is what is confirmed, what is only reported, and what a customer should actually do, which is very little.

e& became etisalat again on 5 October 2026

etisalat's statement, dated Abu Dhabi, 5 October 2026, says the group "steps forward under 'etisalat'", the name it used for fifty years. The change came with its 50th anniversary. The group says it works in 38 countries and serves more than 250 million subscribers.

The group had used the name e& since 2022. Its website now carries the etisalat logo, and its home page says: "as we begin our next fifty, we do it under the name we started with".

The same announcement launched a project to raise the group's international internet capacity to more than 500 terabits per second by 2030, which it says is 25 times today's capacity. That is about the group's own network and the UAE. It said nothing about Pakistan.

The Ufone and Telenor rebrand to e& is still on hold

The plan to rename the merged Ufone and Telenor business as e& was reported to be halted in late July 2026. The reported reasons were a question over board approval and objections to dropping "Pakistan" from the company's identity. No official statement since then has restarted it.

The background is in the reports of the government blocking the Ufone Telenor rebrand to e& in July. Those details came from reports of official letters, not from documents published by PTA or the government. We have not found any PTA notice on a new name since.

Could Ufone become etisalat instead? It is possible, and some reports already suggest it. But nobody with the power to decide has said so. Any rename would still need the approvals that stopped the e& plan, so treat claims of a date as rumour until PTCL or PTA confirms it.

Ufone packages already count Telenor and PTCL calls as one network

The change customers can see is not a logo. Ufone's current Super Card offers on its own website list "Ufone & Telenor & PTCL Minutes" as one bucket. A call from Ufone to a Telenor number now uses the same free minutes as a call to another Ufone number.

For example, Ufone's site says its SC Lite card was revised to Rs 1,700 from 26 September 2026. It gives 10 GB of data, 2,000 Ufone, PTCL and Telenor minutes, 200 minutes to other networks and 2,000 SMS. If your family is split between Ufone and Telenor, check whether your package now treats them as one network.

Telenor customers should look at their own package details the same way. We could not load Telenor's package pages on 9 October 2026, so we have not confirmed how Telenor's own bundles count Ufone calls.

What Ufone, Telenor and PTCL customers should do now

Nothing, except ignore scams. A brand name does not change your number, SIM or balance. If a rebrand does happen, the operator will announce it on its own website and app. No genuine operator asks you to share a code or visit a link to "update" your SIM because of a name change.

1. Keep using your SIM and package as normal.
2. Do not reply to calls or messages asking you to "upgrade" your SIM for a new brand.
3. Never share a one-time code, PIN or CNIC photo with a caller.
4. Check any notice on the operator's own website or app, not on a forwarded message.
5. Report a suspicious caller to your operator and to PTA.

Fraudsters use brand news to sound official. The checks to spot a fake PTA or bank call from a spoofed number work just as well for a fake "Ufone upgrade" call. If you have lost control of your SIM already, block it at once through the operator's helpline.

Why the name matters less than the merger for your bill

A logo costs customers nothing. The merger behind it could change what they pay. When two networks combine, overlapping packages are usually reduced, and some offers disappear. Watch for notices of price revisions like the SC Lite one, which Ufone posts on its home page.

If a package you use is withdrawn or repriced, compare the alternatives before you accept the replacement. PTA's quarterly tracker of mobile package prices shows how much the biggest bundles on each network have risen over the past year.

Common questions

Is Ufone changing its name to etisalat?

Not as of 9 October 2026. No official announcement has been made in Pakistan. Only the UAE parent group changed its name.

What is e&?

e& was the name of the UAE telecom group etisalat from 2022 until 5 October 2026, when it went back to etisalat.

Do I need a new SIM because of the name change?

No. Your SIM, number and balance are not affected. Treat any message saying otherwise as a likely scam.

Are Ufone and Telenor the same network now?

The two businesses are being combined, and Ufone's own packages now count Ufone, Telenor and PTCL minutes together. The two brands are still sold separately.

Was the Ufone Telenor rebrand to e& cancelled?

It was reportedly halted in late July 2026 and has not restarted. With the parent group now called etisalat, the e& name itself has lost its point.

How we verified this

What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.

Last checked on 9 October 2026. Sources: etisalat's statement of 5 October 2026 on its group news page and its home page, and Ufone's own website for current package notices. Details of the halted e& rebrand in Pakistan are reported, not published by PTA or the government.