ISLAMABAD (MNN); The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority announced on Wednesday that the country’s 5G spectrum auction will be held on March 10, with no changes expected in the schedule. The regulator estimates the auction could generate between $300 million and $700 million for the government.
A total of 597 megahertz (MHz) spectrum across multiple bands will be offered in the auction. Three existing telecom operators have been directed to acquire a minimum of 100MHz each during the process.
PTA Director General Licensing, retired Brigadier Aamir Shahzad, said that even if 300MHz is acquired at the base price without competitive bidding, the government would receive at least $300 million. He added that if the entire 597MHz is sold at competitive rates, revenue could reach $700 million, although such an outcome is less likely.
The auction will follow a multi-round electronic clock format, with the main allocation phase beginning on March 10. The 2600MHz and 3500MHz bands will be offered in the first round.
Officials stated that after the auction concludes, the rollout of 5G services is expected to take between three to six months, as additional infrastructure will be required for the newly allocated spectrum.
PTA Chairman Hafeezur Rehman said the auction would significantly improve service quality and data speeds. He noted that around 50 million new users have joined mobile networks over the past five years, while only 10MHz of additional spectrum was added in the 2021 auction.
He explained that improved coverage and higher data speeds would also increase the average revenue per user (ARPU) for telecom companies. ARPU has risen from $0.7 to $1.3 and is expected to grow further as data consumption increases.
According to the PTA, mobile broadband speeds are likely to improve by approximately 25 percent following the auction.
The government has introduced several incentives for telecom companies, including the elimination of the right-of-way fee, previously around Rs36,000 per kilometre annually, to encourage fibre network expansion.
The PTA chairman said telecom operators have already placed orders for 5G equipment, and local production of 5G-enabled smartphones has begun, with 500,000 to 600,000 units manufactured so far.
Operators have been given one year to make capital investments without upfront spectrum payments. However, they will be required to expand 5G coverage beyond major cities such as Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar and Quetta. Fibre-to-the-site ratios will increase from 20 percent to 35 percent by 2035.
Minimum 4G download speeds will rise from 4Mbps to 20Mbps by 2026–27 and to 50Mbps by 2030–35. For 5G, minimum download speeds will increase from 50Mbps initially to 100Mbps by 2030–35, with latency targets reduced to 35 milliseconds. Upload speeds will remain benchmarked at 20 percent of download speeds for both technologies.
