The Federal Cabinet is likely to approve the policy directive for auction of next-generation mobile services (NGMS) spectrum in Pakistan on Tuesday for the improvement of mobile broadband services, through which the government has estimated to generate over one billion rupees in revenue.
Prime Minister Imran Khan will preside over the cabinet meeting to consider ‘Policy Directive for the auction of NGMS spectrum in the country,’ drafted by the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication.
According to the draft policy, a copy of which is available with Propakistani, the spectrum auctions for NGMS in Pakistan were conducted in 2014, 2016, and 2017, respectively, under the policy directives issued by the federal government of Pakistan.
Subsequently, the demand for data services grew exponentially, and in a short period of seven years, the broadband subscribers in the country increased from a mere 14 million in 2014 to over 100 million in April 2021.
A significant surge in demand for broadband services has been witnessed, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. This ever-increasing reliance on wireless mobile broadband services necessitated the demand for the availability of more spectrums to meet the connectivity needs of the citizens of Pakistan.
It further stated that after considering the recommendation of the Auction Advisory Committee (constituted by the Federal Government dated 1st October 2020, amended 24th March 2021) and based on the inputs from consultant and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA)/ Frequency Allocation Board (FAB), the Federal Government in the exercise of powers conferred under Section 8(2) of the Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organization) Act 1996 (Amended 2006) hereby issues the following policy directive for auctioning the available radio frequency spectrum in 1800 MHz and 2100 MHz for compliance by Pakistan Telecommunications Authority:
For the purpose of conversion, the National Bank of Pakistan TT selling rate prevailing on the date preceding the date of payment shall be used. Payment terms shall be as under:
However, mark-up at the rate LIBOR + 3 percent shall be payable on the balance amount till the date the final payment is made.
A new license will be issued to successful bidder using the auctioned spectrum. The tenure of frequency assignment will be 15 years.
Provisions for Spectrum Trading/Sharing as per the approved regulatory framework for such sharing/trading will be incorporated in the licenses. Further terms and conditions relating to enhanced coverage, enhance Quality of Service (QoS), etc., shall be incorporated by PTA to enhance mobile broadband proliferation in the country.