Pakistan’s antitrust regulator warned Pakistan Telecommunication Company’s (PTCL) acquisition of Telenor’s local unit will substantially reduce competition in the mobile market.
The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) completed its stage one review of the deal and found PTCL acquiring Telenor Pakistan will bolster its strong position in the market. The regulator noted PTCL is a market power operator with a range of high ranking telecoms services.
The deal could lead to a rise in prices and dipping service quality. Stage two of the analysis of the deal has commenced.
Pakistan has four mobile operators PTCL’s Ufone, Jazz, Telenor and Zong. Local newspaper Dawn reported Jazz is currently the market leader but will be pushed down to second if Ufone and Telenor merge.
