According to DAWN News, the government hopes to make more than $1 billion by granting carriers a minimum spectrum in the upcoming Next Generation Mobile Services (NGMS) Spectrum auction.
The Advisory Committee for the Release of NGMS Spectrum has approved the auction of 27.8 megahertz (MHz).
The committee chaired by Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin approved the draft policy directives for the release of NGMS Spectrum in Pakistan, Azad Jammu & Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, which will allow improved voice and 3G/4G internet services.
The MoITT will submit the proposal to the federal cabinet for approval, after which the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority will begin the auction procedure (PTA).
PTA would auction 12.8 MHz paired spectrum in the 1,800 MHz band and 15 MHz paired spectrum in the 2,100 MHz band, according to the draught policy.
If the four communications companies do not compete for the spectrum, the base price is around $832 million. Industry players, on the other hand, have criticised the policy.
Earlier, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) had published “Rolling Spectrum Strategy 2020-2023”, in which it observed that C-band (3.6 – 4.2 GHz) is a core spectrum band for 5G deployment.
