ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication has proposed new rules to make the telecom sector more competitive.
The draft Telecommunication Competition Rules, 2026 would give the telecom regulator more power to act against dominant companies.
Under the proposal, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority could require big operators — those with Significant Market Power — to let smaller rivals use their networks. This is called national roaming. The regulator could order this when it is needed to boost competition, help networks grow, protect consumers or make better use of telecom infrastructure.
The rules say such sharing must be offered on fair, reasonable, transparent and non-discriminatory terms. The regulator would decide whether it is technically possible and how long it should last.
The move could put more pressure on dominant operators at a time when the industry is consolidating and preparing for wider 5G rollout.
The draft also gives the regulator power to act against companies that break the rules. It could issue orders, require fixes, impose obligations or start legal proceedings.
Disputes under the new rules could be decided by the regulator, which would look at factors like market efficiency, consumer welfare, fairness, technical feasibility and impact on competition.
The draft says these rules would not take away the Competition Commission of Pakistan’s powers under the Competition Act, 2010. This matters because the ministry, the regulator and the commission have been fighting for years over who regulates competition in telecom. The Islamabad High Court had earlier ruled that the commission has the main authority over competition matters.
The new rules would also require applicants to pay set fees listed in Schedule-I, replacing the older wording of “reasonable fees.”
The regulator would also be able to issue guidelines, decisions, frameworks or directions to carry out the rules.
The national roaming plan fits with the goal of expanding telecom coverage across the country quickly. The 2015 Telecom Policy had already called for national roaming for dominant operators on fair and non-discriminatory terms.
The proposal comes at a sensitive time for Pakistan’s telecom industry, where consolidation, spectrum concentration, infrastructure access and competition are becoming more important. Recent proposals from the regulator suggested using a 25-percent market share as an initial trigger to identify dominant operators, along with other tests such as market concentration, spectrum holdings, key infrastructure, financial strength, network effects and barriers to entry.
