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In a major regulatory move, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has suspended Huawei Technologies Pakistan (Pvt.) Limited’s license, according to a copy of the order available with TechJuice. The PTA action against Huawei follows the company’s failure to obtain a mandatory commencement certificate, despite multiple warnings and an official hearing.
Huawei was originally granted a non-exclusive license on September 8, 2017, to offer Class Value-Added Services (CVAS) and establish a telecom system in Pakistan. According to Regulation 17(A) of the Class Licensing and Registration Regulations, 2007, the company was required to begin services within one year of the license date. Additionally, the company could not legally offer services or receive payments without a commencement certificate, as stated under Regulation 19(A)(i).
Despite numerous written reminders between November 2023 and April 2025, Huawei failed to comply. PTA subsequently issued a Show Cause Notice on December 12, 2024, giving the company 30 days to address the violation and explain why enforcement action should not be taken.
A formal hearing was held at PTA Headquarters in Islamabad on February 27, 2025. The hearing panel included Chairman Maj. Gen. (R) Hafeez Ur Rehman, Dr. Khawar Siddique Khokhar (Member Compliance & Enforcement), and Muhammad Naveed (Member Finance). Huawei was represented by Yawar Hameed (Imports Manager) and Shahid Iqbal Warraich (Deputy Director), who requested additional time to fulfill the formalities. PTA granted an extension until March 31, 2025, and later pushed the deadline to April 21—but Huawei still failed to submit the required documentation.
License Suspended Until Compliance or Termination
In the latest PTA action against Huawei, the authority issued an enforcement order dated July 11, 2025, suspending Huawei’s license for one month or until the commencement certificate is submitted—whichever comes first. Failure to comply within this time frame will result in permanent termination of License No. DIR(L)/CVAS-877/PTA/2017, without any further notice.
Furthermore, all LDI, LL, TIP, and mobile operators have been instructed to immediately suspend any telecom services extended to Huawei under the said license until further orders.
Later today, PTA issued another letter adding more information to the previous letter and stated that
The license mentioned in the letter referred at (i) above shall be read as “Data CVAS License
No. DIR(L)/CVAS-877-PTA/2017 dated 8th September, 2017 for the provision of Vehicle Tracking
Services”
A Data CVAS (Class Value Added Services) License, issued by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), allows businesses like Huawei to provide data-related services, including internet and other non-voice data communication services, to customers. It is a specific type of license under the broader CVAS framework, which also includes Voice CVAS licenses and a registration regime for certain services.
This decisive move signals PTA’s stricter stance on regulatory compliance, especially for international telecom players operating in Pakistan without fulfilling licensing obligations.
