Regulatory competition in Pakistan likely to increase regulatory risk


Posted on August 8, 2008  /  1 Comments

The new Competition Commission of Pakistan has entered into  competition with the Pakistan Telecom Authority.

If the FCC had sole authority over telecom in the US, we wouldn’t probably have the Internet in its present form. That’s a controversial statement, but one that can be defended.

AT&T was broken up and space created for the efflorescence of multiple providers of communication services and products by the Antitrust Division of the US Department of Justice, not by the FCC. I state this upfront to indicate that I am not against telecom operators being regulated by multiple agencies. Monopoly by private suppliers is bad. Monopoly by suppliers of government services is bad.

However, we should not have multiple government agencies regulating the telecom operators in countries like Pakistan at this time. Especially in the context of dysfunctional and egocentric government cultures that are common in our countries, having multiple agencies compete over regulation is likely to increase the supply of regulation, but affect the supply of telecom services to the people negatively, by increasing regulatory risk.

What the Competition Commission and the PTA should do is enter into a MOU to clearly demarcate jurisdiction and collaborate, rather than compete.  If they have the interests of the Pakistan consumer at heart, that is.

1 Comment


  1. Yes, this is over-regulation and a nightmare for mobile companies.