‘5G auction in next 10 months’

ISLAMABAD: The 5G auction will be held within next 10 months. This was decided in a meeting between Caretaker Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunication Dr. Umar Saif and Chairman Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Maj Gen (R) Hafeezur Rehman here on Tuesday.

Matters related to telecommunication, 5G auction and spectrum were discussed in detail. Dr. Saif said all the hurdles in 5G auction will be removed on priority basis, adding that the issues related to taxation, teledensity and spectrum will be addressed. He said effective measures will be taken for provision of quality services to the masses and vowed to facilitate people through the 5G auction.

It is pertinent to mention that Pakistan ranks very low in terms of quality of service for cellular users (79 out of 100 globally by the Inclusive Internet Index). One of main reasons for this low ranking is the lack of investment in the telecom infrastructure.

The telecom operators in Pakistan currently have 274MHz spectrum to serve the 7th largest number of telecom users in the world. Compared with Pakistan, a single telecom operator in Australia (Optus) uses over 345 MHz.

The meeting was also attended by Additional Secretary MoITT Ms. Aisha Humera Moriani and DG Wireless Muhammad Jahanzeb Rahim.