The process for Next Generation Mobile Services (NGMS) 3G/4G spectrum in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJ&K) and Gilgit Baltistan (GB) has come to a halt as Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has become dysfunctional till the appointment of a new Chairman and Member Finance.
Official sources revealed that there are little or no chances of 3G/4G auction in the near future.
The AJ&K and GB Council approved policy directives for 3G/4G in AJ&K and GB on August 17, 2017. After the approval of AJ&K/GB Council, the policy directive was issued to the PTA for the NGMS spectrum auction.
For the calculation of base price and design of auction process for 3G/4G spectrum in AJK & GB, PTA decided to hire a consulting firm and sought expression of interest (EoI) by September 15, 2017, which was later delayed to September 29.
However, later on PTA again sought EoI from interested consultants by October 19, 2017 and hence the auction process was delayed twice.
PTA had short-listed two consulting firms after technical evaluation for the calculation of base price and design of auction process for NGMS 3G/4G spectrum in AJ&K and GB in October 2017.
The short-listed applicants, after technical evaluation, were APPNEX Pvt Limited and OPTIWAVE Technologies Private Limited. The above short-listed applicants will go into financial evaluation stage and the consultancy will be awarded based on the evaluation criteria as mentioned in the Request for Proposal (RFP).
However, about two months have passed, but PTA is yet to hire a consultant for the job.
The consultant will be required to calculate the base price and design a transparent and competitive auction process for NGMS 3G/4G in AJK & GB. As finalized by the PTA & the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication in collaboration with the Frequency Allocation Board, the following frequency blocks for provision of NGMS spectrum auction in AJ&KlGB are suggested:-
Only those operators who participate in the auction of 2100 MHz band can bid for 10MHz in 800 MHz band.