Pakistan set to conduct another 4G band auction in March

The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication Pakistan has started relevant processes and measures to auction off the remaining 4G spectrum among the telcos of Pakistan. The said Ministry is looking forward to have the auction this year, that too as soon as March – ProPakistani has reported.

According to ProPakistani, the relevant spokesperson had told that in order to smoothly conduct the auction within the specified time-frame, the process has already been initiated. To administer the sale, a Auction Supervisory Committee will need to be established. A file on the subject matter has been sent to the PM office for the necessary approval.

Pakistan had its first auction this auction was held online in which telecom operators sent bids using the secure portal provided by PTA. An event that was also set up by PTA at Marriott Hotel, Islamabad covered the event.

Zong and Mobilink each won the 10 MHz 3G spectrums in 2100 MHz band, Telenor and Ufone managed to win the 5 MHz 3G spectrum in 2100 MHz band each. Zong was also able to win the 10 MHz 4G spectrum in 1800 MHz band. Warid didn’t participate. Telenor and Warid were later able to get the 4G spectrums. And as Mobilink also got the 4G functionality after it acquired Warid, Ufone becomes the only company which doesn’t have the 4G spectrum.

It might be noted that the Pakistan experienced a massive influx of people shifting to new cutting edge connectivity technologies following the 3G/4G auction a couple of years back. The shifting, however, had slowed down to a point when it hit the the second lowest of past 10 months.