The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoITT) has issued policy directives for test and development of technologies for fifth generation (5G) wireless networks in Pakistan.
The Federal Cabinet had approved policy directives for test and development of technology for 5G wireless networks last month. The Ministry issued the policy directive which would be implemented by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).
As per the policy directive, next generation mobile services (3G/4G) are continuously gaining momentum in Pakistan since their launch in mid 2014. This was made possible through consistent policy initiatives adopted over the past four years by GoP (MoIT&T) ensuring availability of requisite frequency spectrum supply to the mobile broadband market.
As a result of the auctions conducted by the Authority under the directives of MoIT&T, issuance of respective licenses and launch of 3G/4G mobile broadband services, the demand for data services is growing along with the subscriber base which has crossed 44 million in just three years.
To stay at the forefront of technology and to enable state of the art services for Pakistani consumers, Telecom Policy 2015 provides measures not only for early commercial adoption of technology but also to provide conducive tests and development environment for upcoming and future technologies.
It is imperative that we remain proactive in ensuring market readiness for the next wave of mobile communications i.e. 5G.
5G is expected to enable new ground breaking data rates and will considerably enhance the experience of services/applications that are available today.
It is pertinent to mention that research and development on 5G radio interface standards has been in full swing over the past half decade at multilateral standardization fora. ITU-R has recently published the key requirements related to the minimum technical performance of IMT-2020 (or 5G) candidate radio interface technologies.
Similarly, another key standard development organization, 3GPP, in close collaboration with industry and academia, is developing the specifications for 5G, which are scheduled to be released to ITU-R by the 2019.
Based on evolving standards, a number of trials and tests are well under way around the globe on pre-standard 5G. South Korea is expected to have a pre-standard 5G system up-and-running by the 2018 Winter Olympics. Last month, China completed its plans to conduct 5G field test in Beijing.
In view of the current scenario and to enable Pakistan to keep up with the growth, it is imperative to formalize the regulatory environment for test deployment and benchmarking of 5G technologies through a policy.
Thus, the Federal Government, using powers conferred by the Section 8(2) of the Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organization) Act 1996 (Amended 2006), is pleased to issue the following directives for compliance of the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority:
