Private, Public | |
Traded as | : PTC |
Industry | Telecommunications |
Genre | Telecommunication |
Founded | August 14, 1947 |
Headquarters | Islamabad, Islamabad Capital Venue, Pakistan |
Key people
|
Dr. Daniel Ritz (President, CEO) Azamat Ali Ranjha (Chairman) Muhammad Nehmatullah Toor (SEVP, CFO) Tariq Salman (CTO) |
Products |
Wireless Telephone Internet IPTV |
Revenue | ₨75.75 billion (US$720 million) - 2015 |
₨8.76 billion (US$84 million) - 2015 | |
Owner |
Pakistan government (62%) Etisalat Telecommunications (26%) |
Subsidiaries | Ufone GSM |
Website | www |
Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) is the leading telecommunication company in Pakistan. The company provides telephonic and Internet services nationwide and is the backbone for the country's telecommunication infrastructure despite the arrival of a dozen other telecommunication corporations, including Telenor Corps and China Mobile Ltd. The corporation manages and operates around 2000 telephone exchanges across the country, providing the largest fixed-line network. Data and backbone services such as GSM, HSPA+, CDMA, LTE, broadband Internet, IPTV, and wholesale are an increasing part of its business.
Originally one of the state-owned corporations (SOEs), the share holding of PTCL was reduced to ≈62%, when 26% of shares and control was sold to Etisalat Telecommunications and the remaining 12% to the general public in 2006 under an intensified privatization programme of prime minister Shaukat Aziz. However, the 62% of shares still remain under the management of government-ownership of state-owned corporations (SOEs) of Pakistan.
From the beginning of the Posts & Telegraph Department in 1947 and establishment of Pakistan Telephone & Telegraph Department in 1962, PTCL has been a major player in telecommunication in Pakistan.
Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation (PTC) took over operations and functions from Pakistan Telephone and Telegraph Department under Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation Act 1991. This coincided with the Government's competitive policy, encouraging private sector participation and resulting in award of licenses for cellular, card-operated pay-phones, paging and, lately, data communication services.
Pursuing a progressive policy, the Government in 1991, announced its plans to privatize PTCL, and in 1994 issued six million vouchers exchangeable into 600 million shares of the would-be PTCL in two separate placements. Each had a par value of Rs. 10 per share. These vouchers were converted into PTCL shares in mid-1996.
In 1995, Pakistan Telecommunication (Reorganization) Ordinance formed the basis for PTCL monopoly over basic telephony in the country. The provisions of the Ordinance were lent permanence in October 1996 through Pakistan Telecommunication (Reorganization) Act. The same year, Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited was formed and listed on all stock exchanges of Pakistan
PTCL launched its mobile and data services subsidiaries in 2001 by the name of Ufone and PakNet respectively. None of the brands made it to the top slots in the respective competitions. Lately, however, Ufone had increased its market share in the cellular sector. The PakNet brand has effectively dissolved over the period of time. Recent DSL services launched by PTCL reflects this by the introduction of a new brand name and operation of the service being directly supervised by PTCL.