The establishment of the Auction Advisory Committee, which will oversee Pakistan’s spectrum auctions for next-generation mobile services (NGMS), was approved by the government on Tuesday.
The brief given by the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoITT) regarding the formation of the Auction Advisory Committee was accepted during the meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet, which was presided over by Finance Minister Miftah Ismail.
The committee will be headed by Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue. Federal Minister for Information Technology & Telecommunication, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Division, Federal Minister for Power, Federal Minister for Commerce, Secretary Finance Division, Secretary MoITT, Secretary Law & Justice Division, PTA Chairman, Frequency Allocation Board (FAB) Executive Director, representative of GHQ, Director-General Tech— ISI, Member Legal MolTT, and Member Telecom MolTT (Committee Secretary).
According to the MoITT’s motion for a summary, Pakistan held spectrum auctions for Next Generation Mobile Services (NGMS) in 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2021 in accordance with Policy Directives issued by the federal government.
As a result, the cellular mobile carriers were awarded the paired spectrum, which included 30 MHz in the 1900/2100 MHz band, 29 MHz in the 1800 MHz band, and 10 MHz in the 850 MHz band.
An advisory committee on the “Release of Next Generation Mobile Services (NGMS) Spectrum in Pakistan for the advancement of Mobile Broadband Services amid COV1D-19” was established by the Federal Government in October 2020. The committee was later revised in March 2021 to include representatives from AJ&K and GB.
Following approval of the Economic Coordination Committee’s (ECC) resolution to accept the Committee’s policy recommendations by the federal cabinet, the Ministry of IT & Telecommunication published the Policy Directive on August 4, 2021.
With the aid of an internationally renowned consultant, Frontier Economics, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) ultimately concluded the spectrum auction process in September 2021.
While there was no competition for the allotted spectrum in the 2100 MHz band, Pak Telecom Mobile Limited (PTML/Ufone) received 2×9 MHz in the 1800 MHz band for 15 years.
Prior procedures for the deployment of the spectrum were carried out through an auction, which was supervised by an advisory committee created by the federal cabinet or the prime minister.
In a similar vein, it was suggested that the following members and Terms of Reference (ToRs) be used to form an advisory committee:
- To examine and evaluate the market assessment report, spectrum demand and supply, and recommendations of PTA for the release of available spectrum for Next Generation Mobile Services (NGMS) in Pakistan.
- To examine and finalize the Policy Directives for the federal government for the release of the NGMS spectrum in Pakistan.
- To oversee the spectrum auction/release process to be conducted by the PTA.
To read our blog on “The government expects to earn Rs. 30 billion from the auction of 3G/4G spectrum,” click here.
