IT ministry wants NAB participation in Pakistan's spectrum auction

IT ministry says move will build confidence of public and private sectors

ISLAMABAD:

The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication has proposed the participation of representatives of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in the advisory committee for the release of unsold spectrum for next generation mobile services to avoid subsequent issues and build confidence of public and private sectors.

The economic decision-making body has been informed that spectrum auctions for next generation mobile services in Pakistan were held in 2014, 2016 and 2017 under the policy directives issued by the federal government ie the Ministry of IT.

About 30 MHz paired spectrum in the 1.9/2.1 GHz band, 20 MHz paired spectrum in the 1.8 GHz band and 7.38 MHz paired spectrum in the 850 MHz band were auctioned and assigned to cellular mobile operators.

Consequent to the auction and issuance of licences, 3G/4G mobile broadband services were launched by the cellular operators, which triggered the growth of mobile broadband in Pakistan. At present, Pakistan has over 80 million mobile broadband users.

With this rapid growth and escalating demand for mobile broadband services, the onset of Covid-19 pandemic further increased the utilisation of data due to the adoption of online platforms by businesses, educational institutions and the general public.

This led to the requirement of more spectrum so operators could expand their services and meet the required quality as a regulatory compliance.

At present, the unsold spectrum in the 1,800 and 2,100 MHz bands is readily available for release through an auction.

In a meeting held at the Prime Minister’s House on July 28, 2020, the premier gave directive for making available additional spectrum for mobile services.

The IT ministry recalled that all previous exercises for the release of spectrum had been undertaken through an auction under the oversight of an advisory committee constituted by the prime minister.

On similar lines, the IT ministry has proposed to the economic decision-making body that an advisory committee for the release of unsold spectrum may be constituted with the following composition and terms of reference.

It has proposed that the federal IT minister will be the chairman of the committee and its members will include the finance adviser, minister for planning, development and special initiatives, finance secretary, IT secretary, Law and Justice Division secretary and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) chairman among others.

The committee will examine and evaluate the market assessment report and PTA recommendations for the release of maximum spectrum. It will also examine and finalise policy directives for the federal government for the release of spectrum.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 9^th, 2020.

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