PTA orders PTML to suspend new ONIC SIM, eSIM issuance and subscriptions

Dawn reported that the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has ordered Pakistan Telecommunication Mobile Limited (PTML), the state-owned operator, to halt the sale of new ONIC SIMs and eSIMs. The regulator also barred the company from activating new connections, signing up new subscribers and carrying out related marketing. The directive was issued on September 11, 2026, after Ufone won a court case over a notice first served on its management more than three years earlier.

Following a recent amalgamation with Telenor Pakistan, PTML is a subsidiary of the state-owned Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL). According to a senior PTA official quoted by Dawn, existing ONIC customers would have to move to PTML within three months, unless PTML secures an MVNO licence to keep marketing ONIC as a separate entity. The regulator also wants a report on compliance inside seven working days, detailing the halt and the measures taken.

The merged group, identified as Ufone/Telenor Pakistan, has told customers that ONIC services continue without interruption. In its statement, the company said it remains committed to service quality and values customer trust in ONIC.