PTA ends PTCL’s Internet bandwidth monopoly: The News

By Zubair Kasuri

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Telecom Authority (PTA) has decided to allow the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and DSL operators to buy Internet bandwidth from backbone operators other than the PTCL, thus settling a two-year row of the ISPs versus the PTCL.

The ISPs have been complaining to the PTA to amend their DSL Interconnect Agreement with the PTCL signed a few years ago in which the ISPs were restricted to procure Internet bandwidth from the PTCL only. Since the telecom deregulation in 2004, new operators have laid their infrastructure nationally as well as internationally and two years back, second alternate backbone provider, the TWA, started its services in the country.

But the DSL operators, who are the major purchaser of Internet bandwidth, were restrained by their unilateral agreement with the PTCL not to buy bandwidth from any operator other than the PTCL. The ISPs have been complaining to the PTA time and again against this monopolistic and anti-competitive restriction that did not allow them to have redundancy and benefit of competitive prices from alternate operator.

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