Pakistan Telecom Mobile Limited (PTML) has formally taken the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to court following a strict regulatory order to suspend the commercial operations of its digital telecom brand, ONIC. According to business reports, the regulatory body directed the telecommunications provider last month to immediately halt all new sales, activations, SIM and eSIM issuance, subscriptions, and marketing activities. Under the suspension order, the company has been granted an exclusive three-month window to migrate all existing ONIC subscribers to its primary network to prevent service disruption, alongside a mandate to submit a formal compliance report within seven working days of receiving the directive.
The central conflict revolves around the classification of the digital brand. PTML maintains that ONIC operates entirely as a product under its existing mobile network operator license. However, after evaluating the commercial arrangements under the 2025 regulatory framework, the PTA concluded that the brand’s operational structure falls squarely under the Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) framework. Consequently, the regulator issued an ultimatum requiring the company to either completely restructure the brand within its current license or formally obtain a separate MVNO license to legitimize the current operating arrangement.
The regulatory authority based its decision on the distinct separation of backend operations and the heavy involvement of a third party. While the digital brand utilizes the core network, spectrum, and numbering resources of its parent company, it operates on entirely separate customer management, digital, and billing platforms. Furthermore, commercial functions such as marketing, customer acquisition, and SIM logistics are managed by a separate entity known as DTMS. Under a Build-Operate Services Agreement, this third-party entity receives a fifty-five percent share of relevant revenues during the initial three years. This arrangement raised significant regulatory red flags regarding data security, lawful interception, call-detail records, and customer verification protocols, with the regulator determining that mere ownership of the brand and network did not exempt the structure from mandatory licensing requirements.
This legal escalation is the latest chapter in a dispute that dates back to 2023, when the telecom operator first notified the regulator of its plans to launch the app-based service. The authority initially directed the company to withhold the launch pending a thorough evaluation of its operating mechanisms. PTML challenged that initial directive before the Islamabad High Court, which remanded the matter back to the PTA in February 2026 for a reasoned decision. The current court challenge is a direct response to the regulator’s final determination that the third-party commercial structure violates existing licensing frameworks.