Pakistan to Auction 850MHz Spectrum Ahead of 4G Spectrum
Pakistan to Auction 850MHz Spectrum Ahead of 4G Spectrum
Government of Pakistan is looking to auction 850 MHz frequency ahead of 1800Mhz spectrum auction, leftover 4G spectrum that remained unsold during last spectrum auction in 2014.
This was decided at a high level meeting chaired by Finance Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar on matters relating to Telecom sector with particular focus on frequency spectrum demand.
The Minister of State for IT, Anusha Rehman Khan briefed the meeting on the spectrum demand scenario and the progress with regard to holding of spectrum auction.
The meeting reviewed the spectrum demand scenario while considering the “Market Assessment report” of PTA that was prepared by international consultant and the evolving data growth due to mobile broadband uptake.
In view of reports presented and discussions on Ministry of IT and PTA’s recent engagement with the industry, it was proposed that government should auction of 850 MHz frequency ahead of planned 1800MHz spectrum auction.
The Finance Minister agreed to the proposal and directed that the process may be expedited with complete transparency.
It was also agreed during the meeting that an appropriate amount of spectrum needs to be made available to the industry to enhance the ever evolving requirement of international quality data services for Pakistani consumers.
In this regard all stakeholders including MoIT, PTA and FAB will work together to quickly conclude further procedural measures for making requisite spectrum available through the auction process.
Minister for Law & Justice, Zahid Hamid, Attorney General for Pakistan, Ashter Ausaf, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Law, Barrister Zafarullah, members of Spectrum Advisory Committee, and senior officials of Ministry of IT, Ministry of Finance, PTA and FAB also participated in the meeting.
Sarmad Gardezi
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