Pakistan’s MVNO rules just got real. Operators need a distinct wholesale strategy.
When I wrote about Pakistan’s Telecommunications Authority’s move to open the MVNO market, I raised the question as to whether the decision was genuinely intent on opening competition following market consolidation. I raised the point, because, unlike other regulators that use MVNOs to rebalance competition, the announcement from the PTA carried no stipulations on reference offers, access pricing, or even a wholesale obligation of any kind. The intent was reliant on MNOs voluntarily accepting approaches for an MVNO on their network and playing nicely if they went ahead. This also included trust that an MNO wouldn’t blur the lines between MVNO, flanker and sub-brands. This week, we witnessed the impact few guardrails have, when the PTA ordered Pak Telecom, owner of Ufone, to stop trading ONIC, because it was deemed to be an MVNO not a sub-brand. As part of its ruling, PTA noted that Pak had in effect circumnavigated the MVNO rules. Pak has three months to migrate the ONIC customers on to the core MNO. It looks like a duck, sounds like a duck… The PTA edict sends a firm message to the market: Pakistan is looking for real MVNO competition, not new brands operated by an existing MNO under a different commercial and operational structure. That distinction is important. ONIC was positioned as...
