The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has recovered PKR 495 million from Long Distance International (LDI) operators in the International Clearing House (ICH) case. This includes PKR 458 million from Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) and PKR 37 million from M/s Link Dot Net.
The recovery follows a decision by the Competition Appellate Tribunal, which upheld the CCP’s order declaring the ICH arrangement illegal and anti-competitive.
The ICH agreement, introduced in 2012, routed 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 eliminated competition, increased costs for overseas callers, and generated revenue windfalls exceeding 300 percent.
CCP had initially imposed penalties equal to 7.5 percent of each operator’s annual turnover. The Tribunal later reduced the fines to 2 percent of ICH-related revenues but directed all operators to deposit the penalties within 30 days.
Chairman CCP, Dr. Kabir Sidhu, reiterated the Commission’s commitment to enforcing competition law. He cautioned that while business forums can aid information sharing, they must not be used for price coordination or collusion, and warned against market abuse, manipulation, and exploitation of consumers.
