The federal government has issued a policy directive for the auction of 5G spectrum as it directed PTA to conduct a transparent and competitive auction in this respect. In February this year, the path was paved for the auction of 5G spectrum in the country.
The federal government has set a target of auctioning the 5G spectrum in mid-February, while the PTA will issue an information memorandum following the federal government’s policy directive.
The number of broadband users in the country has crossed 152 million, for whose convenience, spectrum will now be auctioned in the 700, 1800, 2100, 2300, 2600 and 3500 MHz bands, the federal government has directed the PTA to conduct a transparent and competitive auction.
According to the policy directive, spectrum in various bands has been auctioned from 2014 to 2021. Existing mobile operators and new investors will be able to participate in this auction. The base price of the 700 MHz spectrum has been set at $6.5 million per MHz, while the price of the 1800 and 2100 MHz spectrum has been set at $14 million per MHz.
The price for the 2300 MHz band is $1 million per MHz, the base price for the 2600 MHz spectrum is $1.25 million, and the price for the 3500 MHz band is $650,000 per MHz. According to the policy directive, the spectrum fee will be paid in Pakistani rupees, the dollar rate will be locked, the five spectrum will be technology neutral, there will be no restriction on any single technology, the auctioned spectrum will be usable for all existing and future technologies.
The five licenses will require a phased network rollout, the rollout will include cities, sites and fiber-to-tower targets, better quality of service conditions will be implemented for customers, and successful bidders will be issued a new license for 15 years, while spectrum trading and sharing will be allowed as part of the license.
