PTA orders Ufone operator to stop new ONIC sales, activations over MVNO licence requirement

According to Business Recorder, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has told Pak Telecom Mobile Limited (PTML), which runs Ufone, to immediately halt ONIC sales, activations, subscriptions and promotions. The regulator concluded that ONIC's model belongs within the Mobile Virtual Network Operator framework. Current ONIC users, however, have three months from the date the order is received to shift to PTML or be transferred.

The regulator noted that ONIC offers tailored plans, runs its own CRM and billing setup, and operates separate digital and customer-care platforms, even though PTML owns the brand and the underlying network, spectrum and numbering resources. A separate company, DTMS, carries out marketing, customer acquisition, KYC-related processes, SIM logistics and sales, and a share of relevant revenue goes to it under a Build-Operate Services Agreement, set at 55% for the first three years. PTA also flagged concerns about SIM issuance, subscriber information, lawful interception, data localisation, quality of service and disaster recovery testing.

PTML has been told to deliver a compliance report confirming the halt, due within seven working days. The dispute began in June 2023 when PTML planned an app-based launch, and in February 2026 the Islamabad High Court returned the case to the regulator for a decision with reasons. PTML argued that ONIC is simply its digital brand and that the DTMS deal is an outsourcing arrangement, a position the regulator rejected.