The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has recovered nearly Rs 500 million in fines from Long Distance International (LDI) operators involved in a cartelization case in the telecom sector.
According to details, Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) has deposited Rs 458 million, while Link Dot Net has paid Rs 35 million in fines. As per the ruling of the Competition Tribunal, the fines are being collected at 2% of the total revenue earned during the prohibited agreement period. Recovery proceedings from other LDI operators are still underway.
The case relates to a cartel agreement under which LDI operators jointly routed all international calls through a single PTCL-controlled gateway, shutting down their own gateways.
This move fixed call termination charges at 8.8 US cents per minute, almost four times higher than before. As a result, competition in the telecom long-distance market was eliminated, overseas callers faced higher costs, and operators’ revenues surged by more than 300%.
The CCP had declared the arrangement illegal and imposed fines on all involved operators. Although LDI operators challenged the decision, the Tribunal upheld the CCP’s ruling and ordered fines equivalent to 2% of ICH revenues, payable within 30 days.
Read More: Pakistani Senators Want Elon Musk’s Background Check Before Starlink Launch
CCP Chairman Dr. Kabir Sidhu reaffirmed that strict enforcement of competition law will continue. He emphasized that while business forums can play a positive role in information exchange, they must not be used for price fixing or collusion. He also warned against market manipulation, consumer exploitation, and other anti-competitive practices, vowing firm legal action against violators.
