PTA Orders Halt to New ONIC SIMs and Subscriptions

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has directed Pak Telecom Mobile Limited to immediately stop issuing new ONIC SIMs and eSIMs, activating fresh connections, accepting new subscriptions and carrying out related marketing and commercial activity. The regulatory intervention affects new customer acquisition for the digital telecom service after the authority concluded that ONIC's operating model falls within the framework governing Mobile Virtual Network Operators.

The decision does not mean existing ONIC subscribers will immediately lose connectivity. The merged Ufone and Telenor Pakistan operation has assured customers that services will continue without interruption. A senior regulatory official said existing ONIC users are to be migrated to PTML within a three-month period unless the company pursues the regulatory approval required to maintain ONIC under an MVNO structure.

The regulator's assessment focused on how ONIC operates in practice rather than solely on ownership of the brand. Although ONIC uses PTML's licensed mobile network, spectrum and numbering resources, it has developed separate branding, packages, a dedicated mobile application, billing and customer-management systems and direct customer-facing operations. Authorities concluded that these characteristics make the service substantially different from a conventional product sold under an existing mobile network operator's licence.

Regulatory scrutiny also examined the role of separate systems and service arrangements supporting ONIC's customer acquisition, billing, identity-verification processes, SIM distribution and customer care. The authority determined that retaining ownership of the ONIC brand and underlying network infrastructure was not sufficient on its own to keep the service outside the MVNO framework when significant operational functions were being conducted through a distinct digital setup.

PTML has been given clear regulatory choices for the service's future. It can restructure ONIC so that it operates unequivocally as a product or brand fully integrated within PTML's existing mobile network operator licence, or it can retain an MVNO-style model by obtaining the required regulatory authorisation. The company has also been ordered to submit a compliance report within seven working days detailing the steps taken to stop the activities covered by the directive.

The dispute has roots stretching back to ONIC's planned launch in 2023, when regulatory concerns emerged over whether the digital service could operate under PTML's existing licence. The matter subsequently went through legal proceedings before returning to the telecom regulator for a formal decision. The latest order comes at a particularly important time for PTML, which recently completed the merger involving Ufone and Telenor Pakistan, creating a significantly larger combined telecom operation.

For Pakistan's telecom sector, the decision clarifies how the regulator intends to treat digital-first mobile brands whose commercial and customer-management structures resemble virtual network operators. The immediate focus will now be on PTML's seven-working-day compliance response and the management of existing ONIC customers during the three-month transition window. The longer-term future of the ONIC brand will depend on whether its operating structure is brought fully within PTML's existing licence or regularised through the applicable MVNO framework.