ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) on Tuesday said that an amount of $30 million has been generated as revenue from first-ever cellular spectrum auction for Next Generation Mobile Service (NGMS) in Azad Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir (AJ&K) and Gilgit Baltistan.
The first-ever cellular spectrum auction for Next Generation Mobile Services (NGMS) in Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJ&K) and Gilgit Baltistan (GB) was successfully concluded on September 28, 2021, at PTA Headquarters, Islamabad.
The electronic auction was participated by two operators: CMPak (Zong) & PMCL (Jazz) for 1800 MHz band.
The electronic auction went up to 18 rounds and was concluded by declaring Zong as the winner of 10 MHz (2 blocks of 5 MHz) in 1800 MHz band against the price of $ 14.398 million.
The spectrum sold in 1800 MHz band is 85 per cent of the total offered spectrum in the said band for AJ&K and GB. Furthermore, Telenor, Ufone and Zong have also won 1.2 MHz in 1800 MHz band.
Telenor Pakistan is declared winner in 2100 MHz band for a spectrum of 15 MHz against the set base price. The spectrum sold in 2100 MHz band is 50 per cent of the total offered spectrum in the said band.
The total revenue generated from this spectrum auction process for AJ&K & GB stands at over $30 million.
PTA completed the auction process with the assistance of internationally reputed consultant JV Telconet / Frontier Economics who was onboard since April 2021, and conducted thorough consultation with cellular industry and other stakeholders.
The government of Pakistan constituted Auction Advisory Committee in October 2020 under the chairmanship of the Finance Minister. Policy Directive was issued on 11 Aug 2021 under which PTA initiated the process for fair & transparent spectrum auction process ensuring consumer interests.
The addition of this spectrum will help Cellular Mobile Operators (CMOs) to provide better data and voice services in the two regions currently being focused on the promotion of tourism.
