Pakistan’s PTA has ruled that internet service providers (ISPs) and xDSL operators will be allowed to purchase bandwidth from alternative backbone operators, rather than only from PTCL.

Pakistan’s PTA has ruled that internet service providers (ISPs) and xDSL operators will be allowed to purchase bandwidth from alternative backbone operators, rather than only from PTCL. The decision follows complaints by ISPs that previously signed agreements were anti-competitive and monopolistic.

Service providers had called on the PTA to amend their DSL interconnect agreements with the incumbent, which restrictedproviders to procuring bandwidth from PTCL only. However, as alternative backbone providers have entered the market since deregulation, alternative operators claimed that the restrictions did not allow them to benefit from the competitive prices offered by other bandwidth providers.