NGMS spectrum to improve broadband

Finance minister calls for transparent auction to strengthen IT services

KARACHI:

The release of Next Generation Mobile Services (NGMS) spectrum in Pakistan would contribute to the overall economic growth through digitalisation and improve the quality of broadband services, said Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh.

He made the remarks while chairing a meeting of the advisory committee for the release of NGMS spectrum in Pakistan at the Finance Division on Thursday.

During the meeting, the finance minister urged consultants to adopt a proactive approach and meet the given deadlines effectively.

He emphasised that time was of essence for the release of NGMS spectrum and the entire process of auction must be transparent for strengthening and expanding communications and IT services across the country.

The committee was told that the hiring process for consultants was completed in December 2020 as per the required procedure and the consultants were on board for the sale of available spectrum in the current financial year.

Speaking on the occasion, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority Chairman Aamir Azeem Bajwa briefed the committee on latest developments pertaining to the sale of available NGMS spectrum in the country.

The next follow-up meeting of the committee is expected to take place in March 2021.

Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry, Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Syed Aminul Haque and Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood also attended the meeting.

Other participants were information technology and telecommunication secretary, Frequency Allocation Board executive director and other senior officials.