Pakistan to Auction 5G Spectrum by August 2024

Pakistan is gearing up to auction the 5G spectrum by August 2024, following the approval of the Federal Cabinet—the country’s top decision-making body headed by Prime Minister

The Cabinet also established an advisory committee tasked with overseeing preparations for this auction. The Finance Minister will head this committee, while the Minister for Information Technology and the Minister for Industries will be its members.

Caretaker Minister for Information Technology Dr Umar Said after the meeting of the federal cabinet briefed media persons. Saif said that 300 MHz spectrum would be available for the 5G auction. The spectrum will be auctioned after finalizing the consultant through the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).

Telecom Infrastructure Sharing

Saif said that the federal cabinet has also approved telecom infrastructure sharing. This is expected to pave the way for a more business-friendly environment for all telecom companies.  It will enable companies to share infrastructure, allowing them to install equipment on each other’s towers.

Compared to other countries, Pakistan is already late in launching the 5G spectrum. The auction will bring multi-million dollars of funds to the government.

At present, cellular companies in Pakistan collectively utilize approximately 367 MHz of spectrum. The new spectrum auction will increase this volume to over 600 MHz. It will facilitate the rapid deployment of 5G technology throughout the country.

The IT minister stated that a consultant would be appointed “soon” through the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to ensure an efficient spectrum auction process.

Official figures indicate that Pakistan has 194 million cellphone users. According to the global non-profit organization GSMA’s 2021 estimate, the mobile industry’s economic contribution in Pakistan is projected to reach $24 billion by 2023.