The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has received five proposals from international consultants to manage the upcoming 5G spectrum auction, which is expected to be completed within the current fiscal year.
The PTA announced that it had received technical and financial bids from five international consultants: Aetha Consulting Limited, Detecon Consulting FZ-LLC, Frontier Economics Limited, KomKonsult (Private) Limited, and the National Economic Research Associates Inc. These bids will be thoroughly evaluated in line with the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) rules.
PTA Chairman Hafeezur Rehman, a retired major general, informed the National Assembly Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunications that the 5G spectrum auction is under consideration and is likely to take place by March 2025. However, the process has been complicated by disagreements within the government. While the IT ministry supports releasing additional spectrum at lower rates to encourage growth, the finance ministry advocates for strong competition among telecom operators to maximize the auction’s value. The advisory committee overseeing the process is headed by the finance minister.
All major mobile operators in Pakistan, including Zong, Jazz, Telenor, and Ufone, have successfully conducted 5G trials and are currently using 274 MHz of spectrum. However, to commercially launch 5G services, an additional 300 MHz of spectrum will need to be auctioned.