ECC turns down revision in criteria

ISLAMABAD:

The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet has turned down a proposal to revise the criteria for release of additional spectrum to telecom companies.

The ECC has decided to auction the additional spectrum in line with the past practice and complete the auction by the end of September 2021.

It observed that recommendations of the committee, headed by the adviser to prime minister on institutional reforms and austerity, did not cover exchange risk and payment in instalments by the operators.

The economic decision-making committee had considered recommendations of the committee for “Release of NGMS (Next Generation Mobile Services) Spectrum in Pakistan for Improvement of Mobile Broadband Services amid Covid-19”.

The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication informed the economic decision-making body that another committee on payment terms for spectrum price/licence fee in Pakistan had also deliberated on the “Issues of Cellular Mobile Industry for Digital Enablement”.

The IT ministry requested the ECC to approve the policy directive for the auction of NGMS spectrum in Pakistan. The ECC was also requested to deliberate and decide on the recommendations given by the committee on the issues facing the telecom sector for digital enablement.

During the ensuing discussion, the IT & Telecom Division informed the economic decision-making body that recommendations of the committee, headed by the adviser to prime minister on institutional reforms and austerity, were different from the policy directive for the auction of NGMS spectrum whereas the policy directive was in line with the past practice.

The ECC discussed the matter threadbare and observed that recommendations of the committee did not cover exchange risk in cases where 50% balance amount would be paid by the telecom operators in instalments. Therefore, it would be advisable to go by the past practice.

The ECC considered the summary, submitted by the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, and decided that the ministry should ensure completion of the auction process by the end of September 2021 in line with the past practice.

Auction of additional spectrum

The cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan, approved the auction of additional spectrum across the country including Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir.

In a statement, IT Minister Aminul Haq said that the cabinet had approved the auction of additional spectrum across the country.

GSMA’s 2020 report on Pakistan pointed out that the country had assigned significantly less spectrum to the operators compared with many developed Asian markets and several neighbouring countries.

In the region, only Nepal has assigned lesser spectrum to mobile services and Pakistan’s mobile industry is one of the most spectrum-deprived in the world due to higher pricing if compared with the return on investment on the resource.

The report highlighted that increased access to spectrum would result in enhancing the outreach of telecom services, hence, greater tax receipts for the government, which could offset the perceived loss in government receipts due to rationalisation of spectrum prices.

Cyber Security Policy

The minister said that the federal cabinet on Tuesday also approved Pakistan’s first National Cyber Security Policy that the IT ministry had prepared to ensure the safety of online data.

It will set up Cyber Governance Policy Committee to ensure the protection of online data and information of citizens, public and private institutions.

IT Minister Aminul Haq said that the government had also approved a budget of Rs1.92 billion for a national-level response team, which the government would constitute under the new cyber security policy.

The government will set up the Cyber Governance Policy Committee for the implementation of cyber security policy, its oversight, strategy and action.

The primary objective of the policy is to ensure the protection of online data and information of citizens, public and private institutions.

The minister said that cyberattack on a Pakistani institution would be considered an attack on national security. In case of a cyberattack, the government will take all necessary measures and retaliatory action.

Under the policy, the government will form computer emergency response teams at the national, sectoral and institutional levels.

He added that the government would also equip experts with all essential and modern tools to ensure national cyber security under the new policy.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 28^th, 2021.

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