The government completed its 5G spectrum auction in Islamabad on Tuesday, with 480 megahertz sold for $507 million at the end of the third round of bidding.
The three bidders – Zong, Jazz and Ufone – competed heavily at 2600 megahertz for the key frequency band needed for the 5G service. Zong acquired 110MHz, Ufone 180MHz and Jazz 190MHz during the auction.
Pakistan offered 700 MHz for $32.5m, 1800 MHz for $16.8m, 2100 MHz for $70m, 2300 MHz for $10m, 2600 MHz for $12.50m and 3500 MHz for $6.5m per lot.
The bidding process was launched in the presence of Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Information Minister Attaullah Tarrar, former IT minister Syed Aminul Haque, and the chairperson of the National Assembly Standing Committee on IT and Telecom, along with some members of the committee.
All three telecom companies were required to acquire at least 100 MHz. Among the telcos, Jazz purchased the most spectrum, not only in 5G-compatible bands but also in the frequencies used for long-distance telephone services.
Jazz acquired 20 MHz in the 700 MHz band, 50 MHz in the 2300 MHz band, 70 MHz in the 2600 MHz band, and 50 MHz in the 3500 MHz band. Ufone purchased 60 MHz in the 2600 MHz band and 120 MHz in the 3500 MHz.
Zong obtained 60MHz in the 2600 MHz band and 50 MHz in the 3500 MHz band.
After the results were declared, CEO Jazz Amir Ibrahim announced that the company had purchased the 700 MHz spectrum to expand its services in rural and sparsely populated areas.
“I also want to announce that test trials of 5G will be available at 180 towers for Jazz customers from Wednesday,” Ibrahim announced.
After the first round of bidding, the compiled results were opened. The PTA had offered 190MHz in lots of 10MHz each, while the bidders demanded 30 lots. Eleven extra lots totalling 110MHz were made available for auction. The PTA has decided to increase the bid price of the 2600MHz band by five per cent of its base price.
For the other 5G band – 3500MHz – 28 lots of 10MHz were offered but the telecom companies placed bids for only 20 lots. A break preceded both the second and the third round of bidding.
Addressing the event, Aurangzeb thanked all the members of the spectrum committee and gave credit to the IT minister for ensuring the continuity of the IT policy resulting in the spectrum auction despite changing administrations.
Regarding how the auction was going to be “an enabler”, he said, “I’ve always said digital is not an end in itself; it’s a means to an end. Faster, cheaper, better – it’s as simple as that.”
He added, “When we talk about jobs, when we talk about [how] the private sector has to lead the country, this is exactly what the government should be doing … providing the ecosystem and helping out.
“And of course, as we move towards the new economy – whether it’s AI, whether it’s blockchain, whether its Web 3.0 – all of this is going to be helped in terms of the spectrum availability and as we move into 5G.”
The finance minister also referred to the announcement of austerity measures by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif yesterday, saying, “This is where all of this becomes extremely critical, in terms of crisis, to move seamlessly into online education [and] working from home.”
He expressed his belief that the greater spectrum and better connectivity would help the country in terms of a “seamless transition as we negotiate the current oil crisis”.
IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja called the auction “maybe one of the most important days in the history of Pakistan”. She said that during the era of former premier Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan had entered the era of 3G and 4G for the first time, but no major auctions had been held since then, as a result of which the country was experiencing challenges with connectivity.