Pakistan prepares for 5G auction: The Ministry of IT and Telecom has announced a timeline to roll out 5G services, with a spectrum auction across four bands scheduled for May, followed by the deployment starting in June.
According to the publication, the Ministry’s Advisory Committee for 5G Planning will conclude its work on policy reforms, including spectrum price, auction structure, and tax framework, in March.
The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) plans to allocate spectrum in the 3500MHz, 2600MHz, 2300MHz, and 700MHz bands.
In an August 2024 report on the Pakistan market, the GSMA noted that spectrum costs were already high and ARPU was declining, making it “imperative that a rational approach to pricing is adopted for the upcoming auction so that the total cost of spectrum is sustainable and operators have the right incentives to invest in network rollout which delivers affordable connectivity”.
The GSMA also requested the government to abolish the 15% withholding tax on telecom services and the 19.5% sales tax on mobile services.
In 2023, Pakistan’s Minister of IT and Telecom and the PTA chair agreed to remove barriers to a 5G auction, with a focus on tax concerns. At the time, authorities planned to arrange an auction within 10 months.
In 2020, the PTA gave Jazz and Zong six-month 5G test licences in the 2.6GHz spectrum.
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