Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has received encouraging response from national and international firms for its offer of spectrum auction consultancy, despite the uncertainty created after the three failed attempts for 3G license auction, as the authority received seven bids from international firms. The event coincided with the appointment of permanent Chairman of the PTA. The government here on Tuesday notified Dr Syed Ismail Shah as the new permanent chairman of the authority.
The proposals submitted by various consultants for spectrum auction for next generation mobile services in Pakistan were opened by the evaluation committee. In response to PTA's advertisements for the hiring of a consultant of international repute, published in national and international newspapers and on Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) website, a total of seven bids were received from various consulting firms. PTA will finalise the selection of consultants after evaluating the technical and financial proposals in accordance with the relevant rules. All the firms are international coming from USA, UK and UAE. A senior official revealed that the selection of consultant is expected within a week.
The selected consultant (s) would be responsible for providing professional analysis, input, and advice/recommendations on the whole auction process as per PTA's RFP and ToR, and for the successful completion of auction in a transparent manner, averting collusion, ensuring competition and complete transparency in the auction process. The spectrum auction for next generation mobile services would be completed by February 24, 2014. Nine international companies and consortia had participated in the pre-bid conference via video conference, while their representatives physically attended the conference. These companies were from UK, Germany and Middle East.