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The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has successfully recovered Rs. 500 million in fines from LDI operators as part of its ongoing efforts to enforce competition law and prevent anti-competitive practices in the telecom sector.
According to the CCP, PTCL paid Rs. 460 million, while Link Dot Net deposited Rs. 35 million. The recovery from other operators is still in progress, signaling the regulator’s continued vigilance against market violations.
The fines were imposed after the Competition Tribunal declared the ICH agreement illegal, ruling that LDI operators had engaged in cartel-like behavior during a specific period. Operators were penalized 2% of the revenue earned during the cartel period as a deterrent against price-fixing and anti-competitive practices.
The ICH agreement, introduced in 2012, funneled all incoming international calls through a single PTCL-controlled gateway. By fixing termination rates at 8.8 US cents per minute—more than four times the previous rate—the operators effectively eliminated competition, drove up costs for overseas callers, and reaped revenue windfalls exceeding 300 percent.
CCP had originally imposed penalties equal to 7.5 percent of each operator’s annual turnover. While the Tribunal later reduced the fines to 2 percent of ICH-related revenues, it directed all operators to deposit the penalties within 30 days.
Industry analysts believe that the CCP’s decisive action sends a strong signal to all operators that collusion and price-fixing will not be tolerated, encouraging fair pricing and greater efficiency in the telecom market.
The recovery of fines from additional operators is ongoing, and the CCP has indicated that further monitoring and enforcement actions will continue to safeguard consumer interests and promote healthy competition.
