ISLAMABAD: Hatem Bamatraf, President and Group CEO of PTCL and Ufone, announced on Wednesday that PTCL, along with the merged telecom entity of Ufone and Telenor Pakistan, will take part in the upcoming 5G spectrum auction. He hoped that the concerns of the telecom industry would be addressed and the spectrum would be offered under favourable terms during the auction. Mr Bamatraf was addressing a press conference with the management of Telenor Pakistan, where they formally anno­unced PTCL’s acquisition of 100pc of Telenor Pakistan’s issued share capital and Orion Towers for Rs108bn. Unresolved $800m issue The PTCL CEO did not comment on the unresolved issue regarding the $800 million withheld by Etisalat since 2006, when the UAE-based company took control of PTCL. The Pakistani government still holds 62pc of PTCL’s shares, with the remaining 38pc divided between Etisalat (26pc) and public investors (12pc). Telenor Pakistan and Orion Towers are now fully owned subsidiaries of PTCL, alongside Pak Telecom Mobile Ltd (Ufone) and U Micr­ofinance Bank. Telenor Pakistan will continue to operate as a separate legal entity for the next 5-6 months before integrating with Ufone as a merged entity (Mer­geCo), subject to approval from the Pakistan Telecomm­unication Authority (PTA) and the Islamabad High Court. Mr Bamatraf said the merged company would optimise spectrum reso­urces, expand network capabilities, and deliver seamless, secure, digitally enabled services aligned with Pakistan’s digital ambitions. He also assured Telenor Pakistan employees that there would be no job losses due to the merger, emphasising respect for talent and the integration of industry best practices. Following PTCL’s acquisition of Telenor Pakistan, the merged entity, which includes Ufone, will become the country’s second-largest telecom operator, with approximately 35pc of the subscriber base. Jazz Pakistan will remain the market leader with 37pc, while Zong will retain its position as the third-largest operator. Acting CEO In another development, the newly formed board of Telenor Pakistan appointed Awais Vohra as acting CEO. Mr Vohra, a founding member of Telenor Pakistan’s launch team, was previously the company’s Chief Technology Officer. Telenor Pakistan, now an autonomous subsidiary of PTCL, completed all necessary regulatory approvals to finalise the acquisition. PTA annual report The Pakistan Teleco­mmunication Auth­ority’s Annual Report 2024-25 shows telecom revenues exceeding Rs1 trillion, up 12pc year-on-year. Subs­cribers crossed 200 million, broadband users topped 150m, and coverage exceeded 92pc. Fiscal contributions rose to Rs402bn, while investment reached $838m. Data usage surged to 27,727 petabytes. However, PTA official Naveed Butt said high electricity costs and dollar-linked government payments continue to strain operators despite revenue growth. Published in Dawn, January 1st, 2026