PTCL

In May 2021, Etisalat by e& appointed Hatem Bamatraf as president and Group CEO of PTCL. Hatem previously served as the CTO of Etisalat.{{Cite web |last=Ahmed |first=Ali |date=2021-05-24 |title=PTCL appoints Hatem Bamatraf as Chief Executive |url=https://www.brecorder.com/news/40094718 |access-date=2023-07-06 |website=Brecorder |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=About PTCL |url=https://ptcl.com.pk/Home/PageDetail?ItemId=395&linkId=1042 |access-date=2023-07-06 |website=ptcl.com.pk}}

It was known as the Posts & Telegraph Department in 1949 and as Pakistan Telephone & Telegraph Department in 1962.{{Cite web|last=TLTP|date=2020-07-29|title=Telecom infrastructure ready to support 5G networks: PTA chief|url=https://profit.pakistantoday.com.pk/2020/07/29/telecom-infrastructure-ready-to-support-5g-networks-pta-chief/|access-date=2020-08-18|website=Profit by Pakistan Today|language=en-US}}

Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation (PTC) took over operations and functions from Pakistan Telephone and Telegraph Department under Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation Act 1991. This coincided with the Government's competitive policy, encouraging private sector participation and resulting in the award of licenses for cellular, card-operated pay-phones, paging and, lately, data communication services.

Pursuing a progressive policy, the Government in 1991, announced its plans to privatize PTCL, and in 1994 issued six million vouchers exchangeable into 600 million shares of the would-be PTCL in two separate placements. Each had a par value of Rs. 10 per share. These vouchers were converted into PTCL shares in mid-1996.

On 31 December 1995, the Pakistan Telecommunication (Reorganization) Act, 1996, was passed, which formally reconstituted the Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation as PTCL.{{Cite web|url=http://www.brecorder.com/news/3792904|title=PTCL: PAKISTAN TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANY LIMITED - Analysis of Financial Statements Financial Year 2005-3Q'10|date=20 August 2010|website=Brecorder}} The act facilitated the transfer of the telecommunications business, along with its associated assets, rights, liabilities, and obligations, from the corporation to PTCL. However, certain exclusions were allocated to the National Telecommunication Corporation (NTC), Frequency Allocation Board (FAB), Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), and Pakistan Telecommunication Employees Trust (PTET).

As part of the reorganization process, the Government of Pakistan divested 26 percent of its PTCL shares through an initial public offering (IPO) at a strike price of PKR 30 and was subsequently listed on the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) in 1996.{{Cite web|url=https://gulfnews.com/uae/pakistan-gears-up-for-major-ipo-since-1996-1.371804|title=Pakistan gears up for major IPO since 1996|date=9 October 2003|website=gulfnews.com}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.brecorder.com/news/4256557 |title=Let market forces determine strike price |website=Business Recorder}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.meed.com/pakistan-investors-go-for-ptc/|title=MEED | PAKISTAN: Investors go for PTC}}

PTCL launched its mobile and data services subsidiaries in 2001 by the name of Ufone and PakNet respectively. None of the brands made it to the top slots in the respective competitions. Lately, however, Ufone had increased its market share in the cellular sector. The PakNet brand has effectively dissolved over a period of time. Recent DSL services launched by PTCL reflects this by the introduction of a new brand name and operation of the service being directly supervised by PTCL. File:PTCL phone shop.jpg]]

As telecommunication monopolies head towards an imminent end, services and infrastructure providers are set to face even bigger challenges. The post-monopoly era came with Pakistan’s Liberalization in Telecommunication in January 2003. On the Government level, a comprehensive liberalization policy for the telecoms sector is in the offering.

In 2005, Government of Pakistan decided to sell 26 percent of the company to some private corporation. There were three participants in the bidding process for the privatization of PTCL. Etisalat, an Abu Dhabi company was able to get the shares with a large margin in the bid.[http://www.indianexpress.com/oldStory/73016/ "Pakistan takes Etisalat's $2.59 billion PTCL bid"] The Indian Express (newspaper), Published 21 June 2005, Retrieved 9 December 2017 In June 2005, Etisalat won the 26% of PTCL shares along with management control of the then telecom monopoly for US$2.6 billion. As of 2019, Etisalat has held back $800m amount over a property-transfer dispute with the Pakistani government.{{cite news |title=Privatisation gone sour: Govt signed agreement to transfer PTCL properties 'which don't exist' |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1455057/ |work=Dawn |date=2 January 2019}}

The government's plan of privatizing the corporation was not welcomed in all circles; countrywide protests and strikes were held by PTCL workers. They disrupted phone lines of institutions like Punjab University Lahore along with other public sector institutions.{{Cite web |date=2005-05-26 |title=KARACHI: PTCL workers on strike against privatization |url=http://beta.dawn.com/news/140788/karachi-ptcl-workers-on-strike-against-privatization |access-date=2024-02-13 |website=DAWN.COM |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2005-06-14 |title=Hundreds of striking telecom workers detained |url=https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/pakistan/hundreds-of-striking-telecom-workers-detained-1.290842 |access-date=2024-02-13 |website=gulfnews.com |language=en}}

PTCL provides fixed-line telephone services across Pakistan.

Wireless voice services used to be provided through PTCL's CDMA2000 network, which was broadcast over the 1900 MHz WLL frequency under the 'Vfone' brand name, however, the network was shut down on 31 August 2016 nationwide to allow the spectrum to be re-farmed for PTCL's 'CharJi' LTE service.

PTCL offers three different types of fixed-line broadband across 2,000 cities* in Pakistan with plans ranging from 2 Mbit/s to 250 Mbit/s.{{Cite web |title=Unlimited Internet Packages {{!}} Internet Bundles |url=https://ptcl.com.pk/Home/PageDetail?ItemId=122&linkId=176 |access-date=2023-07-06 |website=ptcl.com.pk}}

• ADSL2+ (with optional G.992.5 Annex M) - plans from 2 Mbit/s to 20 Mbit/s
• VDSL2 - plans from 2 Mbit/s to 100 Mbit/s
• Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) - branded by PTCL as FlashFiber - plans from 20 Mbit/s to 250 Mbit/s

*PTCL's FlashFiber is currently only offered in 70 cities.{{Cite web |title=Coverage - PTCL Flash Fiber |url=https://ptclflashfiber.com/coverage |access-date=13 February 2024 |website=PTCL Flash Fiber}}

PTCL also offers TDD-LTE based Wireless Broadband under the 'CharJi' brand name with coverage in over 70 cities. Service is only available through their provided mobile hotspot device.{{Cite web |title=Coverage - PTCL CharJi |url=https://charji.ptcl.com.pk/coverage |access-date=13 February 2024 |website=PTCL CharJi EVO}}

PTCL announced the termination of CharJi services across several cities in Pakistan effective 30 June 2024. Existing customers are being given an option to migrate to Ufone.{{Cite web |title=Charji to Blaze |url=https://ptcl.com.pk/Home/PageDetail?ItemId=694 |access-date=2024-05-06 |website=ptcl.com.pk}}

Ufone is a wholly owned subsidiary of PTCL, it also the fourth and the smallest cellular provider in mainland Pakistan. It provides GSM, HSPA+ and LTE services over the 900, 1800 and 2100 MHz bands.

In addition to voice and data services, PTCL also offers digital TV services based on DVB-IPTV under PTCL Smart TV brand name.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ptcl.com.pk/Home/PageDetail?ItemId=149&linkId=222|title=Better than Cable - PTCL Smart TV|website=www.ptcl.com.pk|access-date=2017-03-15}} PTCL users can also stream live TV using the Smart TV smartphone application.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ptcl.com.pk/Home/PageDetail?ItemId=268&linkId=525|title=Smart TV App|website=www.ptcl.com.pk|access-date=2017-03-15}}

PTCL has been involved in anti-competitive practices several times in the recent years, particularly in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

In 2006, PTCL terminated Nayatel's E1 link at their colocation facility despite Nayatel fulfilling all the requirements as per their interconnect agreement.{{Cite web |date=2007-03-06 |title=Claim under the Interconnection Dispute Resolution Regulations |url=https://www.pta.gov.pk/media/nayatel_ptcl.pdf |access-date=2024-02-22 |website=Pakistan Telecommunication Authority}}

In November 2010, LINKdotNET (part of Mobilink, now Jazz) and Micronet Broadband in a complaint to PTA, accused PTCL of charging excessively high prices for bandwidth to other ISPs, whilst subsidizing its own DSL tariffs.{{Cite web |date=2011-11-18 |title=Determination on Anti-Competitive Practices of PTCL in the Broadband Market |url=https://ispak.pk/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Determination-on-AntiCompetitive-Practices.pdf |access-date=2024-03-17 |website=ISPAK}}{{Cite web |last=Hassan |first=Taimoor |date=2024-03-10 |title=Is PTCL throttling one of its competitors through anticompetitive practices? |url=https://profit.pakistantoday.com.pk/2024/03/10/is-ptcl-throttling-one-of-its-competitors-through-anticompetitive-practices/ |access-date=2024-03-17 |website=Profit by Pakistan Today |language=en-US}}

Again in 2016, PTCL and Bahria Town were both involved in preventing other ISPs from laying fiber infrastructure in, effectively giving PTCL a monopoly for voice, data and TV in Bahria Town.{{Cite web |date=2016-08-04 |title=CCP issues show-cause notice to Bahria Town for abuse of dominance |url=https://nation.com.pk/04-Aug-2016/ccp-issues-show-cause-notice-to-bahria-town-for-abuse-of-dominance |access-date=2024-02-22 |website=The Nation |language=en-US}} The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) issued a show-cause notice to Bahria Town for abusing its dominant position. After the case was heard, a fine of 2 million PKR was imposed on Bahria Town and CCP ordered them to allow Nayatel and any other potential entrants to lay their fiber infrastructure, allowing healthy competition in the ISP sector.{{Cite web |date=2017-02-07 |title=Competition Commission imposes Rs 2m fine on Bahria Town |url=https://profit.pakistantoday.com.pk/2017/02/07/competition-commission-imposes-rs-2m-fines-on-bahria-town/ |access-date=2024-02-22 |website=Profit by Pakistan Today |language=en-US}}

On 14 February 2024, Nayatel submitted a complaint with PTA alleging that PTCL was actively blocking Nayatel IP addresses as Nayatel terminated their bandwidth agreement directly with PTCL due to price gouging. Nayatel instead opted to purchase PTCL bandwidth through Telenor Pakistan and Zong CMPak who were authorized by PTA to resell to other licensees, as this was more cost effective for Nayatel. However, PTCL refused to allow Nayatel's traffic to pass through its network since the bandwidth was purchased through a reseller.{{Cite web |last=Gardezi |first=Ahsan |date=2024-02-20 |title=PTA Asks Nayatel, PTCL, Zong and Telenor to Resolve Bandwidth Dispute Within 3 Days |url=https://propakistani.pk/2024/02/20/pta-asks-nayatel-ptcl-zong-and-telenor-to-resolve-bandwidth-dispute-within-3-days/ |access-date=2024-02-22 |website=ProPakistani}}{{Cite web |last=Siraj |first=Wahaj |date=2024-02-21 |title=Might tries to be right, Internet is no exception |url=https://www.linkedin.com/posts/wahajsiraj_pta-asks-nayatel-ptcl-zong-and-telenor-activity-7165665041273368576-cjl2 |access-date=2024-02-22 |website=www.linkedin.com |language=en}}

PTCL had started with 10 digit numbers for landline telephones. The first three (in case of smaller cities, 4 or 5) signified the area code (e.g. 042 for Lahore) and the rest (7 for large cities, 6 or 5 for smaller ones) were the subscribers number. Due to the large demand for landlines in Lahore and Karachi, in 2009, PTCL decided to increase the 7-digit subscriber numbers to 8-digits, adding "9" before existing Government numbers and "3" before the others (e.g. the number 042–7878787 before 2009, was changed to 042–37878787).{{cite news|url=https://nation.com.pk/25-Jun-2009/ptcl-shifts-numbers-from-7-to-8-digit-series|title=PTCL shifts numbers from 7 to 8 digit series|date=25 June 2009|access-date=30 December 2021|work=The Nation (newspaper)}}

PTCL successfully carried out 5G trials in February 2021 and achieved download speeds up to 1.7 Gbit/s in their testing environment.{{Cite web |date=2021-02-11 |title=PTCL Group conducts successful 5G trials |url=https://profit.pakistantoday.com.pk/2021/02/11/ptcl-group-conducts-successful-5g-trials/ |access-date=2021-02-11 |website=Profit by Pakistan Today |language=en-US}}

After Telenor ASA announced in November 2022 that they would leave the Pakistani market,{{cite news |last1=Nair |first1=Dinesh |last2=Chan |first2=Vinicy |last3=Baigorri |first3=Manuel |title=Telenor Kicks Off Sale of $1 Billion Pakistan Business |work=Bloomberg News |date=2022-11-09 |access-date=2023-12-14 |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-11-09/telenor-is-said-to-kick-off-sale-of-1-billion-pakistan-business |quote=Telenor ASA is pushing ahead with plans to sell its operations in Pakistan, which could be valued at about $1 billion, people familiar with the matter said.}} the sale of Telenor Pakistan to PTCL was announced in December 2023. Subject to regulatory approvals, PTCL will acquire a 100% stake in Telenor Pakistan for {{currency|493 million|USD|fmt=gaps|passthrough=yes}}.{{Cite web |last=Sadozai |first=Dawn com {{!}} Irfan |date=2023-12-14 |title=PTCL to acquire Telenor’s Pakistan operations |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1797769 |access-date=2023-12-14 |website=DAWN.COM |language=en}}{{cite news |last=Mjaaland |first=Ola |title=Telenor selger datterselskap i Pakistan for 5,3 mrd: – 18 vellykkede år |trans-title=Telenor sells daughter company in Pakistan for 5,3 billion [NOK]: – 18 successful years |language=NB |work=NRK/NTB |date=2023-12-14 |access-date=2023-12-14 |archive-date=2023-12-14 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20231214142842/https://www.nrk.no/norge/telenor-selger-datterselskap-i-pakistan-for-5_3-mrd_-_-18-vellykkede-ar-1.16678249 |url=https://www.nrk.no/norge/telenor-selger-datterselskap-i-pakistan-for-5_3-mrd_-_-18-vellykkede-ar-1.16678249 |quote=Det er klart at det har vært krevende 18 år, ingen tvil om det. Men på den andre siden har vi gitt 45 millioner mennesker en mobiltelefon. Vi har også greid å bygge en kultur som har gjort at vi har blitt lagt merke til. [...] [Brekke] nevner blant annet at selskapet innførte svangerskapspermisjon 6 måneder som den første noen gang i dette markedet, og at ingen andre selskaper i Pakistan har så mange kvinner som jobber hos seg. |trans-quote=It clearly has been 18 demanding years, no doubt about that. But on the other hand we have given 45 million people a mobile phone. We have managed to create a culture which has caused us to be noticed. [...] Brekke mentions among other things that the company was the first in the [Pakistani] market to implement a 6 month maternity leave, and that no other company in Pakistan employs as many women as them.}}

• List of dialling codes of Pakistan
• Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication
• Telephone numbers in Pakistan
• Ufone - A wholly owned cellular subsidiary of PTCL

{{reflist|30em}}

• [http://www.ptcl.com.pk/ PTCL official website]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20111004011027/http://www.nts.org.pk/AlliedUniversities/ptcl.htm Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation Limited (PTCL) - profile and history on National Testing Service website Archived]

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Category:Etisalat

Category:Pakistani brands

Category:1996 initial public offerings

Category:Telecommunications companies established in 1947

Category:Internet service providers of Pakistan

Category:Telecommunications companies of Pakistan

Category:Companies listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange

Category:Companies in the KSE 100 Index

Category:Companies based in Islamabad

Category:Government-owned companies of Pakistan

Category:Information technology companies of Pakistan

Category:Formerly government-owned companies of Pakistan

Category:Pakistani companies established in 1947