PTA to Hire Consultant for Additional Spectrum Sale Within 60 Days

Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue, Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, chaired the meeting of the Advisory Committee for the release of the unsold spectrum of next-generation mobile services (NGMS) today at the Finance Division.

Minister for Science and Technology, Fawad Chaudhry also participated in the meeting.

The Committee was briefed by Chairman PTA and Secretary, Ministry of Information Technology about the latest developments on the sale of the available spectrum of next-generation mobile services. The members of the Frequency Allocation Board also shared their input on the subject.

The Committee was briefed that the process for hiring the consultant for the sale of the available spectrum will be completed within 60 days and a report will be prepared and submitted before the Committee accordingly. It is expected that the initial report will be ready by December 2020. The process for the sale of the spectrum will follow after the hiring of the consultant and tentatively will be completed within the current financial year.

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Adviser Finance, as Chairman of the Committee, directed to complete the task of the hiring of the consultant at the earliest. He also stated that the whole process of the auction must be transparent and an officer may be designated to apprise the public about the progress regarding the sale of the spectrum on regular basis.

The whole process would contribute towards strengthening and expanding communications/IT Services across the country, will create more job opportunities, and improve the ease of doing business.

The next meeting of the Advisory Committee is expected to take place in December 2020.