Onic has stopped new SIMs and eSIMs: what now for a non-PTA phone?

What PTA ordered

Onic is a digital brand of Pakistan Telecommunication Mobile Limited (PTML), Ufone's company. PTA's order is dated 11 September 2026 and was reported on 15 September.

• Issuing new Onic SIMs and eSIMs, activating new connections, taking new subscriptions and marketing it: all to stop immediately.
• PTA found that Onic has its own brand, packages, app, billing and customer systems, so it works like an MVNO, which needs an MVNO licence.
• PTML has two options: make Onic plainly a PTML product under Ufone's existing licence, or obtain an MVNO licence to run it in its current form.
• PTML has seven working days to file a compliance report.

PTML's position has been that Onic is only its digital brand, not a separate operator, and that the subscribers and numbers remain with PTML.

How the case got here

• June 2023: PTML told PTA it planned to launch Onic.
• August 2023: PTA held back the launch pending a full assessment, and on 11 August clarified that no new operator had been given a mobile licence.
• February 2026: the Islamabad High Court sent PTML's petition back to PTA to decide again.
• 11 September 2026: PTA ordered Onic's new sales and activations to stop.

What happens to existing Onic users

Ufone/Telenor Pakistan said existing Onic customers will keep uninterrupted service. PTA has given three months to move all customers to PTML, with their data kept protected.

PTA made clear that the three months are only for moving existing customers, not permission for new sales or activations.

Will the Onic number stay the same? PTML says the numbers remain with it, but what happens to a number after the move has not been officially announced. If your number matters for something important, such as bank OTPs, confirm with Onic or Ufone directly; this page will not guess.

Trust only messages that come from Onic or Ufone. Anyone asking for money to "save" your number is not acting for either of them.

How long a local SIM or eSIM works on a non-PTA phone

In the words of PTA's own DIRBS FAQ, an unregistered "device will receive signals for first 60 days and you can use it without paying tax or registering it. After 60 days, it will not receive any services."

An eSIM from Onic, Jazz, Zong or Ufone is a local SIM too, under the same rule as a plastic one. So Onic closing neither worsens nor eases the problem for a non-PTA phone: every route that comes with a local number asks for registration after 60 days.

If you need a local number for good, registering the phone with PTA, which means paying the tax, is the straightforward route.

What a roaming eSIM does differently

The same DIRBS FAQ says "users on roaming services will continue to use their phones without any registration", and that inserting a local SIM brings the registration requirement. eJugaar is that kind of eSIM: data arrives over the Jazz network as roaming traffic, so it works on a phone that was never registered.

Its limits are just as plain:

• Data only. No calls, no SMS, no Pakistani number. WhatsApp, IMO and Messenger calls run over data.
• The internet exits in the UK, so some bank apps and government portals may ask for extra verification; use WiFi for those.
• The phone must support eSIM and must not be carrier-locked or JV. Check your phone here.
• It does not register the phone with PTA or change the phone's legal status.

Onic and a roaming data eSIM, side by side

• Pakistani number: Onic has one; a roaming data eSIM does not.
• Calls and SMS: Onic has them; a roaming data eSIM does not, only calls in apps such as WhatsApp.
• Unregistered phone: Onic, like every local SIM, for the first 60 days; a roaming data eSIM without registration.
• New connections: Onic stopped on 11 September 2026; a roaming data eSIM is still available.

Before buying, dial *#06#: if an EID appears beside the IMEI, the phone can take an eSIM. How to install it on each phone is in the install guide.

Which route fits you

• You need a Pakistani number (bank OTPs, local calls): register the phone with PTA, or keep the number in a PTA-approved phone.
• You only need internet (WhatsApp, maps, social media, WhatsApp calls): a roaming data eSIM is enough. See plans.
• The phone is carrier-locked or JV: no SIM or eSIM will work, so check that before buying anything.

If your Onic eSIM still works, there is no need to remove it now. News of the move to PTML will come from Onic or Ufone.

Questions

If you only need internet

Data-only plans start at Rs 380. Check your phone first: if it cannot take an eSIM, we will say so before you pay.