Syed Saif Ul Hassan 
Sep 25, 2025
While the soon-expected merger between Telenor Pakistan and Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) is largely viewed as a catalyst for Pakistan's long-overdue 5G launch, which has been hanging in the balance for months, the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has cautioned that it might draw some unfavourable consequences to Pakistan's already struggling telecom sector.
CCP has argued that the proposed merger has the potential to disrupt competition in Pakistan's telecom sector, saying that it will limit options for consumers.
In its recent review of the merger, the CCP took into account various factors, including market entry barriers and the risk of a dominant player emerging. The analysis showed that the merger would lead to a highly concentrated market, particularly in the wholesale and retail segments.
This concentration is expected to be partly driven by the combined entity, referred to as MergeCo, holding 42.7% of the wholesale domestic leased line market.
This enormous shareholding would position it next to PTCL, which currently possesses 42.1% of the market. Meaning these two telecom giants will leave extremely shallow room for smaller operators struggling to compete.
In the wholesale IP bandwidth market, PTCL already accounts for 64.5% of the share, while competitors like Transworld Associates have just 35.5%.
The CCP was of the view that further consolidation would create a duopoly, bringing innovation to a standstill and discouraging new entrants.
In the retail long-distance and international services market, MergeCo is anticipated to dominate with 43.18%, surpassing PTCL’s 32.67%.
Although the merger has neither been blocked nor taken place, the CCP is likely to take measures to protect smaller competitors and ensure fair pricing before granting approval.
