Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Chairman Hafeez-ur-Rehman said on Wednesday that the long-awaited 5G spectrum auction will be held on March 10, with services initially rolling out in federal and provincial capitals and plans to expand to other cities soon.
Speaking at a media briefing on the upcoming Spectrum Auction for Next Generation Mobile Services (5G), the PTA chairman said that improved connectivity was critical to achieving the Digital Pakistan vision and promoting a cashless economy.
He said that regulatory and policy reforms have been aligned to facilitate the rollout of next-generation services.
Hafeez-ur-Rehman highlighted that the government has eliminated the right-of-way fee, which had previously delayed fiberization projects. “This initiative, supported by the Ministry of IT & Telecom, ensures faster execution of infrastructure projects,” he added. He said that telecom operators are aware of the benefits of early network deployment. “Once licenses are issued, operators are unlikely to delay roll-out. They are already preparing business cases and investment plans, which will accelerate deployment,” he said.
The chairman also said that telecom operators have already placed orders for 5G equipment, while local manufacturing of 5G-enabled smartphones has commenced, with 500,000 to 600,000 units produced so far.
Referring to Bangladesh’s experience, the PTA chairman pointed out that it took four years for operators there to fully understand 4G use cases. “In Pakistan, our focus is on enhancing 4G quality for the 90 per cent of users currently relying on it. By efficiently utilising available bands, we expect significant improvements in service quality,” he explained.
Hafeez-ur-Rehman also outlined measures taken to facilitate faster roll-out. Operators have been offered flexibility in spectrum sharing, certain regulatory terms have been relaxed, and incentives have been provided to encourage investment in network expansion.