Pakistan Proposes National Roaming Rules for Dominant Telecom Operators

Pakistan is considering a telecom competition framework that could require dominant operators to provide national roaming access to competitors.

The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication has proposed the Telecommunication Competition Rules, 2026. The measures remain at the draft stage and do not announce an immediate network-sharing arrangement between named operators.

When Roaming Access Could Be Required

Under the proposal, the regulator could impose national roaming obligations on an operator designated as having Significant Market Power.

Such obligations could be considered necessary to promote competition, expand coverage, protect consumers or improve the use of existing infrastructure.

National roaming allows customers to access another operator’s network within the country where an arrangement permits it.

Conditions for Network Access

The draft requires roaming obligations to operate on fair, reasonable, transparent and non-discriminatory terms.

The regulator would assess technical feasibility and determine the operational scope and duration of an arrangement.

The proposal therefore does not mean every operator would automatically share its entire network or that customers could immediately connect to any available provider.

Enforcement and Dispute Resolution

The proposed framework would allow regulatory directions, corrective measures and proportionate obligations, alongside proceedings under the relevant law.

Dispute assessments could consider consumer welfare, market efficiency, technical feasibility and the effect on competition.

The draft also seeks to preserve the Competition Commission of Pakistan’s jurisdiction under the Competition Act, 2010.

Implementation Details Still Pending

For consumers, the potential benefit is wider access to mobile infrastructure where roaming obligations are justified.

Actual availability would depend on finalisation of the rules, regulatory decisions and implementation arrangements. The announcement provides no customer rollout date or confirmed list of participating operators.