Despite Competition Commission of Pakistan’s (CCP) sole mandate to regulate telecom sector on competition related issues, Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication has drafted its own ‘Pakistan Telecommunication Competition Rules, 2017’ to check anti-competitive behavior in the telecommunication sector, we have checked.
Not to mention, CCP had issued a Policy Note to the Ministry of Information Technology & Telecom (MoITT) recommending to review the Telecom Policy, 2015 in relation to the Competition Rules for the telecom sector as it is the sole jurisdiction of CCP under the Competition Act, 2010.
In its policy note, the CCP has raised two major issues:
CCP had said that the Competition Act — under which CCP is governed — being an Act of Parliament takes precedence over the Rules being framed by MoIT, which is a subordinate legislation.
CCP, in its policy note, had said that empowering PTA to regulate competition related matters in the telecom sector will not only create redundant duplication of jurisdictions but also engender legal uncertainty for the telecom operators and consumers as well as wastage of state resources.
CCP — through its policy note — had invited MoIT to work in a collaborative manner, instead of creating a parallel jurisdiction.
Meanwhile, on the other hand, MoIT has drafted these new rules — called “Pakistan Telecommunication Competition Rules, 2017” — and has asked the general public to share their thoughts and proposals.
Draft copy of Telecommunication Competition Rules can be downloaded from here.
Here are highlights of the Telecom Competition Rules: