Frequency Spectrum for Cellular Mobile Services: PTA forms special committee to conduct auction

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has constituted a special committee to conduct the auction of Frequency Spectrum for Cellular Mobile Broadband Services. The licence for this service will be technology neutral and the licensees would be able to deploy any technology including 3G/4G / LTE any other upcoming technologies. This was decided in the pursuance of the policy directive issued by Ministry of Information Technology (MOIT).
PTA is planning to auction Frequency Spectrum for Cellular Mobile Broadband Services. The Information Memorandum (IM) for auctioning process is being prepared by PTA. The auction will be held tentatively in March 2012 for which exact schedule will be issued later. The auction process will be overseen by a joint professional group (Auction Supervisory Committee), comprising public sector stakeholders, including representatives of Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Information Technology, PTA and FAB etc. PTA has constituted a special committee for making preparations to conduct the auction in the most possible transparent manner.
For the awareness and information of potential investors, PTA is also planning to hold Investors Conferences in Karachi and Islamabad. International Road Shows will also be organised. The exact schedule for the auction would be made available soon.
According to the senior officials, the introduction of Cellular Mobile Broadband services in the country will initiate a new economic cycle and accrue great benefits for the national economy. It will also usher in new era for proliferation of a number of new applications for data intensive value added services. This will greatly fulfil the requirement and demands of Cellular Mobile Phone subscribers and professionals who are eagerly waiting for this service, officials added.