The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has recovered Rs19 million from Multinet (Pvt.) Limited and Rs1.4 million from Voice Communications in the ICH case.

With these recoveries, CCP has now collected Rs772 million from telecom operators, reflecting notable progress in enforcing competition rules across Pakistan.

The Commission is continuing efforts to ensure that all fines imposed on telecom companies involved in the LDI sector are fully recovered without delay.

In 2012, the CCP found that 14 Long Distance International operators colluded under the ICH system, forming a cartel that significantly restricted market competition.

Under the ICH arrangement, all incoming international calls were routed through a single PTCL-controlled gateway, causing fixed high call termination rates for all operators.

The cartel lowered efficiency in international telephony services, raising costs for consumers across Pakistan while restricting competitive pricing and market choices.

Following CCP investigations, penalties were imposed on all operators involved, reflecting the financial and competitive impact of their anti-competitive behavior in the market.

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The CPT later upheld the findings of CCP, confirming both cartelization and abuse of dominance while reducing the penalty to two percent of revenues.

After the Tribunal’s ruling, the CCP initiated recovery proceedings to collect fines from all telecom operators affected by the ICH anti-competitive arrangement.

Some operators have challenged the Tribunal’s decision in the Supreme Court of Pakistan, but no restraining order has been granted to halt CCP enforcement.

This allows the Commission to continue pursuing legal recovery measures, ensuring penalties are enforced while higher court cases remain under judicial consideration.

The recovered funds highlight the dedication of CCP to ensuring fair competition and preventing collusion among telecom operators across Pakistan in the future.

The CCP confirmed it will keep a close watch on LDI operators, ensuring compliance with competition laws and preventing future collusion.