Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday described Pakistan’s entry into the fifth-generation mobile era as a major milestone for the country, stating at the signing ceremony of licence agreements for the 5G spectrum that the technology would deliver wide-ranging benefits across sectors including agriculture, technology, and industry. Speaking at the Prime Minister’s House where Jazz, Zong, and Ufone formally signed their licence agreements, the prime minister emphasised that the auction process had been conducted with complete transparency despite legal challenges encountered along the way, and appreciated the role of Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar in resolving those hurdles. He also drew a parallel with the divestment of Pakistan International Airlines, citing both as examples of transactions conducted with a new standard of transparency in the country’s economic history.
The prime minister congratulated all three telecom operators on successfully acquiring spectrum, noting that Jazz had secured the largest overall share. He also extended his congratulations to Chinese officials associated with Zong, reiterating that the Pakistan-China relationship continued to grow stronger. He expressed hope that fifth-generation technology would not remain confined to urban centres but would extend to all parts of the country, including rural areas, and underscored the importance of moving swiftly to ensure that Pakistan’s youth could benefit from the opportunities created by modern technological advancement.
Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja highlighted the scale of the spectrum expansion, noting that 480 megahertz had been added to the system compared to the 274 megahertz previously available, an addition that she said would significantly improve internet speeds in the months ahead. She also confirmed that while fifth-generation services were being launched for the first time, the additional spectrum would simultaneously improve existing fourth-generation services for users across the country. PTA Chairman Hafeez ur Rehman added that with this auction, Pakistan had become the leading country in the region in terms of spectrum capacity, a distinction that reflects both the scale of the recent sale and the government’s stated ambition to position Pakistan as a serious player in the global digital economy. In total, the government sold 480 megahertz out of the originally targeted 597 megahertz, generating approximately 507 million United States dollars, with services set to launch initially in Islamabad and the four provincial capitals before expanding to other parts of the country.
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