Ufone

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Ufone
Company type
Subsidiary
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HeadquartersUfone Tower, Blue Area,
Key people
Hatem Bamatraf
(Group CEO & President)
ProductsONIC, UPaisa
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Total equityIncrease Template:Pakistani Rupee7.223 billion (US$Template:Rnd million) (2023)
Number of employees
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ParentPakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd
Websiteufone.com
Footnotes / references
Financials as of 31 December 2023 [1]

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Pak Telecommunication Mobile Limited, doing business as Ufone, is a Pakistani mobile network operator headquartered in Islamabad. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited. Following PTCL's privatization, Ufone became a part of Etisalat by e& in 2006.

Ufone has a subscriber base of 29 million as of January 2026, among which 20 million are 4G/LTE subscribers. It has a market share of 13% and just over 10,000 cell sites, the least among all four mobile operators.[2][3]

History

Ufone was founded in July 1998 and began operations in January 2001.[4]

Rashid Khan was appointed acting CEO of Ufone in August 2017.[5] Rashid Khan, president and CEO of both Ufone and PTCL, died in December 2020.[6]

By 2017, Ufone was the only company in the Pakistani telecommunications market that did not have 4G data services. It launched 4G in August 2019.[7] In 2019, PTCL and Ufone were merging a number of their departments.[8]

In 2021, it purchased its own 4G spectrum license for US$279 million.[7]

Radio frequency summary

Frequency Protocol Band Class Channel Width
900 MHz GSM/GPRS/EDGE 8 2G 2.6 MHz / 7.6 MHz
900 MHz LTE/LTE-A 8 4G/4G+ 5 MHz
1800 MHz LTE/LTE-A/5G NR 3 15 MHz
2100 MHz 1 5 MHz
2500 MHz 5G NR n41 5G 60 MHz
3500 MHz n78 120 MHz

Ufone had bid on a 5 MHz block of 2100 MHz spectrum in the NGMS auction held in early 2014, however due to rising demand, in December 2016, Ufone decided to re-farm a portion of its 900 MHz 2G network to 3G (HSPA+) to increase network capacity.

Ufone has re-farmed their 900 MHz spectrum in Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi/Islamabad, Abbottabad, Sheikhupura and Sialkot.[9][10]

PTML Ufone won 2x9 MHz of 1800 MHz in the 2021 NGMS auction held by PTA, bringing its total spectrum in the band up to 15 MHz which will be used for improvement of its existing 4G services.[11]

Post-merger spectrum allocation

PTA granted technical approval for merging and integration of networks on 19 March 2026, allowing Ufone to begin utilizing spectrum that is currently in-use by Telenor Pakistan.[12]

MergeCo Spectrum Holding
Frequency Channel Width
850 MHz 10 MHz
900 MHz 12.4 MHz
1800 MHz 23.8 MHz
2100 MHz 10 MHz
2500 MHz 60 MHz
3500 MHz 120 MHz
Total 236.2 MHz

4G launch

On 9 February 2019, Ufone launched its 4G network in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, utilizing its existing NGMS licenses. By 2019, Ufone had expanded its 4G coverage to 16 cities, and had outlined plans to launch 4G in additional locations as well.[13]

3G sunset

Ufone began sunsetting its 3G services in June 2025, refarming the allocated spectrum to 4G. As of February 2026, it had sunset its 3G services in most urban centers of Pakistan.[14]

5G launch

Ufone participated in the 2026 NGMS Auction, acquiring 180 MHz of total spectrum, consisting of 120 MHz in the 3.5 GHz band and 60 MHz in the 2.6 GHz band.[15]

Voice over LTE (VoLTE)

In October 2023, Ufone announced that it enabled VoLTE across its network, making it the last network in the country to support the service.[16]

Merger with Telenor Pakistan

In December 2025, PTCL completed its acquisition of Telenor Pakistan, along with its spectrum allocation licenses and cellular network.[17]

On 19 March 2026, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority gave their technical approval for the merger between Ufone and Telenor Pakistan allowing both companies to begin integration of systems and spectrum.[12]

See also

References

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  1. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Ufone PTML VIS Rating Report 2023" (PDF). Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  2. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Telecom Indicators | PTA". www.pta.gov.pk. Retrieved 2024-07-26.
  3. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."PTA/Licensing/Wireless/156/2024" (PDF). PTA. 2025-11-30. Retrieved 2026-03-14.
  4. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Hamdani, Amin (2025-01-27). "Ufone Rating Report" (PDF). VIS Credit Rating Company Limited. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  5. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Ufone appoints Rashid Khan as acting CEO", Pakistan Today, August 13, 2017, retrieved September 15, 2024
  6. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Ahmed, Ali (December 17, 2020), "President, CEO PTCL & Ufone Rashid Khan passes away", Business Recorder, retrieved September 14, 2024
  7. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Ahmad, Ahtasam (May 17, 2023), "PTCL Suffering Losses Due To Ufone's Abysmal Performance", The Friday Times, retrieved September 14, 2024
  8. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Govt may merge Ufone completely with PTCL", Pakistan Today, November 22, 2019, retrieved September 15, 2024
  9. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Ufone Upgrades and Doubles its 3G Network Through Spectrum Refarming". 2017-01-25. Retrieved 2017-10-19.
  10. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Ufone Upgrades its 3G Network in Karachi". 2017-03-30. Retrieved 2017-10-19.
  11. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Press Release". Pakistan Telecommunication Authority. 10 September 2021. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  12. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Ali, Kalbe (2026-03-24). "PTA gives go-ahead for Telenor, Ufone merger". Dawn. Retrieved 2026-03-24.
  13. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Attaa, Aamir. "Ufone is Going 4G in Pakistan". Retrieved 2019-02-09.
  14. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Ufone 3G services Sunset".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  15. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Amin, Tahir (2026-03-10). "Pakistan raises $507mn in long-awaited 5G spectrum auction". Brecorder. Retrieved 2026-03-10.
  16. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Ufone 4G Introduces VoLTE for HD Voice & Video Calling Experience Over 4G Network". ProPakistani. 2023-10-19. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
  17. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."PTCL Spreads Its Wings: A New Chapter for Pakistan's Digital Future".

Template:Etisalat Template:Mobile network operators of Pakistan