Islamabad – The government has directed Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to hold an Auction for the license of the remaining Spectrum of 3G/4G technologies by the end of June.
According to media reports, the decision has been made to overcome the Revenue Deficit of about Rs85 billion in the current fiscal year.
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Sources said that the base price for 2x10MHz of 850MHz spectrum would be set at $395 million. The spectrum assignment will be useable with all next generations of mobile technology.
If the license is not sold at the desired price, the government could slash the development budget to overcome the revenue deficit, sources said.
All the existing and new telecom companies in the country will be able to participate in the auction, for which PTA has reportedly initiated the bidding process.
A notification issued by PTA stated that the frequency would be sold for a period of fifteen years.
“For efficient and optimal rollout of next generation mobile services, provisions for sharing of infrastructure and national roaming as provided in the Telecommunications Policy 2015 will be applicable,” the regulator said.
The first-ever auction of 3G/4G spectrums licenses was held in April 2014 when Zong purchased 10 Mhz of 3G spectrum and 10 Mhz of 4G; Mobilink received 10 Mhz of 3G spectrum while both Ufone and Telenor got 5 MHz of 3G for a total of $1.12 billion.
Source: Pakistan Tribune
