Telecommunication sector licences reduced from 26 to four

The government has approved the Telecommunication Network and Licencing Policy, 2025 to provide affordable quality services by reducing centralised control and limiting middlemen’s influence in the telecom sector.

The policy was approved at a meeting of the Advisory Council chaired by Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus at his office on Thursday.

Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb, the chief advisor’s special assistant on ICT, presented the details of the policy at a press conference at the Foreign Service Academy.

Explaining the policy’s main goal, he said: “Through this policy, we will reduce the number of middlemen and ensure competitive services by reducing the stratification in licencing.

“This will ensure services to customers at affordable prices without reducing government revenue.”

“BTRC issues 26 types of licences. A total of 2,999 organisations collect these licences and provide different kinds of services.

“To avoid excessive chaos, the licencing system has been reduced to only three levels, eliminating the layers of intermediaries. Another licence has been arranged for satellite-based telecommunication services. Therefore, services in this sector can only be provided through four licences.”

Describing this policy as both business-friendly and customer-friendly, Taiyeb said: “The policy allows ITC, IIG, and IGW operators to work under a single licence. We have expanded the category and created an environment of competition.

“We have created a National Infrastructure Layout. Investors in infrastructure like fibre networks, towers, and data centres can now operate under one licence, boosting competition without shutting any business.”

The new policy slightly limits foreign ownership, giving mobile companies a three-year grace period and requiring 15 percent of ownership to be released to the stock market.