Breaking: Telenor Wins 4G Spectrum in Pakistan

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority is today announcing Telenor Pakistan as winner of its 850MHz spectrum auction in Pakistan, we have checked with sources who are familiar with the development.

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority had announced the auction of 10MHz block in 850MHz band at a base price of $395 Million, for which only one operator (Telenor Pakistan) had submitted its bid.

Because of single bidder, PTA (through a clause in IM) had this option of withholding the auction and postponing it for a later time to attract more bidders for spectrum and ultimately a better price, but regulator instead is going ahead with the auction and Telenor Pakistan will be awarded 3G/4G spectrum at the base price.

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority and Ministry of IT and Telecom, in this regard, is going to make an announcement through a press briefing, we have checked.

According to details, PTA will announce its decision of awarding 3G/4G spectrum to Telenor Pakistan.

License award ceremony, along with other modalities of spectrum auction, will be arranged at a later time.

Telenor to Become 3rd 4G Operator in Pakistan

With this, Telenor Pakistan will have 10MHz of spectrum in 850MHz band with which it will be able to launch 4G services in Pakistan to become third 4G operator in the country.

Not to mention, the spectrum in 850MHz band is technology neutral.

It will interesting to note here that Telenor Pakistan has successfully conducted its 4G tests in Pakistan and it is all set to ultimately launch 4G services in the country; the timeline, however, isn’t clear to us as of yet.

We are anticipating that major cities are going to be offered 4G services with-in few months of the 4G license.

With this spectrum auction, currently offered 3G services will also see a boost in quality and customers should immediately expect better than earlier 3G services from Telenor Pakistan.

Update:

Anusha Rehman, Minister for IT and Telecom, Dr. Ismail Shah, Chairman PTA today announced that Telenor Pakistan has been termed the winner of 10MHz block in 850MHz band.

Officials said that Telenor will be allotted spectrum as following:

  • UL: 824 – 834 MHz
  • DL: 869 – 879 MHz

Press was told that Telenor is awarded this spectrum on base price of USD 395 Million in accordance with the schedule given in the IM.

The license will be awarded to Telenor within 30 days of payment.

Tech and telecom reporter for over 15 years


  • very less number of phone models has support for 850mhz LTE, if telenor wants to succeed with their 4g they should introduce reasonable 4g data sims for office and home users.

    • Bhai Kion Ki Qismat Jaag Gai Ha Khas Kar Korean Model Main 850 MHz band 5 Use Hota Ha

      • Ahan, that’s nice. Anyway new phone models will deploy this frequency

        • Samsung Galaxy Note 3 at&t Model Main 850 MHz band 5 Ha Isme 1800Mhz Nahi Tha Or LG K Kiay Model K Naseeb Khul Gay Hain

          • Thankfully, My S5 G900T (T-Mobile) also supports this band, now only thing waiting for me to see is if it offers better Packages than Warid.

      • the biggest question is when will they launch their 4g service? and will it also be limited to big cities and elite areas of cities or it will be nation wide?

        • ٹیلی نار کو دنیا کے کئی ممالک میں 4 جی چلانے کا تجربہ ہے میرے خیال میں ٹیلی نار جتنی جلدی 4 جی کو پھیلائے گا اتنا اس کے لئے اچھا ہے ورنہ ٹیلی نار وہی استعمال ہو گا جہاں کسی اور کمپنی کی کوریج نہیں ہو گی کیونکہ شروعات میں جب 4 جی نہیں تھا تو سب 3 جی استعمال کرتے تھے اور جب تھوڑا سا استعمال زیادہ ہوا تو 4 جی ضروری ہو گیا ہے اسلام آباد میں 3 جی موبائل کے خریدار کوئی نہیں ہر خریدار 4 جی استعمال کرے یا نہ کرے مگر 4 جی لازمی پوچھتا ہے اور پہلے موبائل خریدنے سے پہلے 1800 فریکوئنسی چیک کرتے تھے اب 850 بھی لازمی دیکھیں گے کیونکہ نیٹورک کوئی بھی انٹرنیٹ صرف 4 جی اور میرے سامنے بہت اچھے موبائل بالکل فارغ ہو گئے جن میں فور جی نہیں تھا اور اب ان موبائل کی ویلیو کم ہو جائے گی جو 1800 اور 850 فریکوئنسی کو سپورٹ نہیں کریں گے

          • I have vega phone you are right it has been crippled by the lack of 4g. I dont plan to use for calling but just as a hotspot but due to lack of availability of network supporting compatible bands it has been just reduced to a 3g device.

            • شہری علاقوں میں ہر کسی کے پاس چوائس زیادہ ہے اور مجبوری کم ہے کال ڈیٹا علیحدہ چیز ہے اور نیٹ ڈیٹا مختلف ہے کال ڈیٹا کے لیے ذاتی نمبر، فیملی نیٹورک، وغیرہ اور انٹرنیٹ کے لیے کوئی مجبوری نہیں کسی نے ڈیٹا سم کارڈ رکھا ہے اور کسی نے ونگل اور 3 جی 4 جی کلوؤڈ اور اسلام آباد راولپنڈی میں ایسے لگتا ہے ہر بندہ یوفون سپر کارڈ ہی استعمال کرتا ہے اور یوفون کا 3 جی نیٹ صرف سپر کارڈ کے ایم بی ہی استعمال ہوتے ہیں ٹ

    • Kya hogya bhai…? Itnay log Pakistan m America s aye hue handsets use krtay hain jin m Warid aur Zong ki 4G ki 1800Mhz frequency available nhi hai but 850Mhz available hai to un k to mazay hain… M khud LG G2 ls980(Sprint) use krta hon jis m 1800Mhz available nhi hai frequency but 850Mhz available hai.. To mere liye achi news hai kyun k m Telenor use krta hon aur mjh jaise aur logo k liye good news hai..

      • haha acha bhai , mein ny aaj tak aisa koi phone use nahi kiya jis mein LTE 850Mhz ho :-p
        waisay apko boht boht mubarak ho. laatri say kam nahi ye news apky liye.

      • Moiz Mohsin bro ye konsay America sy aye hue handsets hotay hain i mean kis company ky hotay hain jin main 1800 MHZ nhi 850 Mhz frequency hoti ha

    • INDIAN Telecom company also developed 850mhz band for 4G.

      Low cost samsung J series phone launch in INDIA support 850mhz 4G.

      latest mediatek 1.0quad core & qualcomm 210 series processor support 850mhz 4G band.

      All INDIAN mobile company use this processor to launch low end 4G phone to support 850mhz 4G band.

  • Good Game and Shot by Telenor, Mobilink Sochta he reh gaya… Chance tha us k ly k wo bhe 4G ban jata..

      • Its only an 8.8Mhz spectrum. Warid’s only saving grace is its low subscriber share. Mobilink’s services will suffer badly if they stick with that 8.8 spectrum.

            • Yes because PTA have told them they can not keep all the spectrum after the deal as they will have more than enough so it will be wise for them to convert it to 4g or technology neutral spectrum license.

        • Well it is enough to address the needs of mobilink. If zong needs to deploy 10 antennas in an area mobilink will have to deploy almost 11.3 ~ 11 antennas in that area. Mhz restrict only the distance which the signals can reach. Number of users connected to each station depend on the type of device being deployed at the stations. 850mhz has far more reach than that of 1800mhz

          • Theoretically speaking it should. However, it is ignorance to assume that things would work as optimally for Mobilink as there are numerous factors to consider when merging networks. Not to mention mixing of hardware of different vendors plays havoc with your network as each has its own way of handling traffic and volume. Just hoping that everything goes as smoothly as it can. When is the merger expected to become reality ??

    • Mobilink is buying warid which already has 4g licence, in such case mobilink dnt need other licence

    • Chohan, 4G ko choro magar ufone ka itna bura haal hogaya hai k call hi lagti ufone se. Ufone se ptcl pe call lagao tou local “ptcl” landline k liye bhi yehi recording aati hai k aapka matluba number is waqt band hai. Pass rakhay huwey dosray phone ka number try tou bhi yehi problem. Ufone pe ab calls nahi sirf recordings aati hain. Bezaar hogaya hun main ufone rakh k.

      • I think you forgot their illegal routing of web traffic. They are bombarding phones with spam and virus infected links on their 3g. And PTA is dead and takes no action.

        • When you are outta wifi coverage then obviously you turn mobile data on. But ufone 3g doesn’t work i checked it in numerous areas of Karachi for few seconds you get 3g signals than again it turns to edge. But the real matter of concern is the calling issue which can’t be compromised. Your number is on 24/7 then why the heck do you get the missed calls alerts? It means someone tried your number but the call didn’t go through. This is the problem with ufone. And their customers representative have been trained as blunt liars that they have taken an oath that “sach k siva sub kuch kahien ge”. I’m confused what to do woth it. Even complaining at helpline is of no work. And if we go for Mobile number portability than what about those friends and family members who got this freakin ufone on our recommendations and now they are all being suffered. Ufone users should really make a collective strategy which works.

          • Personally I would not like to continue using Ufone but because most of my family members are using it and I also use supercard , I can’t leave now. Ufone knows this and they became worst in service. Because they know people can’t just leave them.

          • Never faced call related problem with Ufone. May be it is a local city level issue. But there 3G is the worst.

            • Dear all i get is “aapke matloba number se filwaqt rabta mumkin nahi” not just me but whoever uses ufone in my circle facing the same issue. Whether you call someone or someone calls you. Call will br connected after various attempts say like around 10. And on one of my family members number i get “aapka matloba number durst nahi” recording. Though the number is active and working. If you don’t face calling issue u r lucky but I’m afraid you may not enjoy this for so long. But in Karachi at least we are unable to get basic services, forget the 3G.

              • Sare Family Members k sath Telenor ya Zong ki Franchise Chale jaen, Convert b karwalen or Kuch Minutes b maang le :D

    • CEO of Zong already hinted another merger might be Ufone merge with Zong in coming years.

    • Bhai Telenor 4G Pakistan Ki Wahid Company Jis NE 3G Ko Sub Se Pehly Launch Kia Tha Or Sub Se Ziyada 3G Trail Period Dia Tha I Hope Telenor 4G Lte Bhi Apni Rawayat Ko Barqrar Rakhy Ga

  • Hope telenor will now improve itself ! I had been telenor loyal customer for 4 years but after 3G it bexame so pathetic that I had to shift to Zong! Right now Telenor has worst voice, data and 3G services !! Anyways hope for a betterment after 10 mHz

  • Thank God! Telenor was in desperate need for a speed boost. I shifted to Telenor from ZonG and I had been regretting since Day 1. Telenor’s 3G does not even come close to Zong’s 3G forget 4G.

  • Congratulations Telenor 4G
    Umeed Ha Telenor 4G Islamabad Main Sub Se Pehly Launch Kary GA
    Best Of luck

  • 850 Band is missing on most chinese manufacturers. So it will be expensive to buy a Phone for Telenor 4G

  • So Zong, Jazz (Warid) and now Telenor all have 4G except Ufone who remains with its pathetic 3G services.

  • why ptcl is not included in 4g service provider despite the fact that they are providing 4g lte

  • Now only Telenor 4 G will rule, they have the capacity to grab the market with their high speed 4 G network. TP go and get it…………………

      • well i know there are companies having 40 MHz in the world for 3G or 4G services but the market dynamics of Pakistan are different from them. we have a long way to go… but you can see ane example of Zong which is offering exclusive speeds with its 10 Mhz 3G and 10 Mhz of 4G … now we have 3 x 4G players in market and this is a mega boost for local economy if we fully utilize the oppertunities and encourage the E-Commerce eco system for local/ international products else there is nothing more special use of these technologies but only web surfing or social networking etc. Hope we better use them..

        • Haha ha.bhai ap kis dunya me rehte ho? Govt here never thinks the way you have presented. They only think about revenue coming in their pockets and how much money they can milk from ordinary man. We have stupid tax laws when doing financial transactions. We don’t even ask where our politicians made money. We don’t even ask anything who is buying or selling dollars in the market. What you think they will benefit the country? They are crooks they will suck all the blood from Pakistani nation.

          • sad but true facts.. however the only way to proceed is to think about positive aspects and do good what ever we can for our country…

        • lol. you still think that way? this kind of thinking only works in developed world not in Pakistan. They can sell 50 mhz block to any operator but they dont why? because they need to fill their own pockets and give money to imf. Rulers are crooks and Pakistan will stay backwards for a long time.

  • Telenor make intelligent decision because other band get unlocked easily and use other networks

      • asii bat nahi ha kio ka yah frequency ab itni AAMM nahi ha iss lia iss ki devices bhi alaada ho gii lakin jaha tak ma na dakha ha E8372 and E5573 huawei devices iss band ka lia use ho sakti ha shayad personal not tested

    • 850 means low frequency high range of towers but slow speed due to interference, 1800 means high frequency with low tower range but high data speed. 850 frequency needs filters in urban areas to avoid interference and better speed.

      • in usa tmobile phone company use 1900 and 700 also 600 for lte and connect all 3 to get better signal quality ,low frequency 700 and 600 very good for penetrating wall and basement

        • Yess. But unfortunately in Pakistan only single frequency is being used for LTE, 1800 is good for data rate but had indoor signal problem, 850 is good for indoor penetration of signals but also face loss of data packets due to low frewuency that directly effects speed. In countries like USA low frequency LTE used for VoLTE and strong signals and high frequency for speed.

  • Dear aamir
    How 3G speed will become better if telenor deploy 4G on this spectrum? And if telenor share this spectrum between 3g and 4g both like 5 MHz for each, their 3G might get better but 4G will suxxxx due to already low frequency band.

  • Correct me if I am wrong but 850 Mhz is not a very popular band for 4G in phones right? Only select operators in Australia, US, Japan, and South Korea use it. Plus it is also used for two-way radio communication. Seems like Telenor was too desperate.

    • 850 Mhz 4G band popular in INDIA.
      50% Indian 4G phone support 850 Mhz 4G band.
      and upcoming all 4G phones in INDIA support 850 Mhz 4G band.

  • 850 MHz band best works in rural areas where there are least obstacles. In urban areas good luck with deploying it. People will always be complaining about frequent disconnection and low speed with high ping timing.

    • To my understanding: Lower frequency travels further and penetrate walls better at negligible data speed differences. So please enlighten me a bit.

      • Penetrates better but same walls and electrical wires inside it plus the electrical appliances and gadgets in home will result in interference and loss of data packets. If you sit on roof top you will actually get good speed but inside rooms and despite of full signals your internet will get slower.

  • Well 850 gives more coverage (Good in Rural Areas) and indoors in Urban and telenor has to use less towers… But the data speed is not good compared to 1800 (Zong +Mobilink) which will give higher speeds but both have to build more towers….plus the low cost handsets in rural areas will not be supporting 4G band….its a compromise decision .. after Telenor did not have the foresight to see upcoming data environment and did not bit for 10Mhz in 3G or only 210m USD for 1800 Mhz ………….. Best of luck,… they have the options now to catch up……ALL DEPENDS ON USER EXPERIENCE

  • With this spectrum auction, currently offered 3G services will also see a boost in quality and customers should immediately expect better than earlier 3G services from Telenor Pakistan.

    kese ?

  • ye Telenor se kaha ha k wo 4G lgaenge k Apne Apni Traf se kaha ha 4G ka ? inko Chaie 3G den ispe q k mre Mobile me 3G Chalta ha is band pe :/

  • Most of latest LTE handsets can support band 5 850mhz… except qmobile infinix & other cheap brands.

  • Telenor 4g se mujhy koi khas umid nahi hai.Qk ek tu yeh 5mhz 3g per rahy ga.Second 850 band k models pakistan mn kam han.Zong se 2 faiday han.10mhz 3g/4g aur 1800band jo ziada tar pakistan mn lte handsets per mojod hai.

  • Wow my iPhone will now support 4G in Pakistan

    BTW Telenor had some problem with time synchronisation with my iPhone, that is why i ported out.

  • Telenor might launch 4g mifi (Huawei E5573-320) and wingle (Huawei E8372-606) after successful 4g launch

  • Telenor ko chahiye k woh 3G ko 2100 se 850 per shift krde au 4G ko 1800 per ly aye is se 4G best hojaye ga, 3G ki to kher hai 1800 band takriban har mobile me hai pe 850 4G k liye bohat kam me hai, lumia 550 me 850 2G and 3G k liye to hai per 4G k liye nhi hai sirf {Band 8 (900MHz), Band 20 (800MHz), Band 1 (2100 MHz), Band 3 (1800 MHz), Band 7 (2600 MHz)} bands hain. so yeah best Mashwara hai Telenor k liye. Expert Advice hai yeah


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