Cable, internet, telephone services: CCP warns housing society against discrimination

ISLAMABAD: The Competition Commission of Pakistan has underlined that cable, internet and telephony services are essential facilities and the lack of space should not be used as an excuse to give preferential treatment to a specific internet service provider or to discriminate against another by creating barriers to enter the market.

According to a recent order, the proprietary rights arising from a utility corridor serving public purposes, whether owned or managed by the municipality or a private entity, are essential public utility corridors.

The CCP directed the management of a housing society based in Islamabad to restore a level playing field by giving ‘Right of Way (ROW)’ to an Islamabad-based Cable, Internet and Telephony Services (CIT Services) provider on the same terms and conditions as being offered to other

operators.

The CCP conducted an inquiry after taking a suo motu notice of the complaints and concerns of the residents of the said housing society, who complained of being deprived of an alternate choice of CIT services provider, which was restricted to only two. They alleged that the society’s management was not letting the CIT provider to operate in the area despite the company’s interest to provide its services.