PTA Chairman Reveals 5G Launch Date
Wire desk byline Sourced from Xinhua, Dawn, Arab News, Anadolu and Minute Mirror. Translated and abridged by the GSRRA Desk.
Pakistan’s Modernization Drive: The Telecom sector will lead the advancement of all sectors. With the launch of 5G, a revolution is expected in all sectors of the economy.
Chairman of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Major General (R) Hafeezur Rehman on Wednesday announced the auction date for 5G services.
Addressing the NA Standing Committee on IT and Telecom in Islamabad today, the chairman said 5G will be launched by April 2025. The PTA is actively working to attract new companies to participate in the auction and aiming to expand the market and enhance competition, he added.
The Chairman assured that despite the current challenges, including the ongoing recovery of the submarine cable—which may extend until August 27—the planned system upgrades are not expected to cause further disruptions to internet services.
PTA to Open Technical Bids for 5G Auction Consultancy Next Month
It is pertinent to mention that the internet has been largely disrupted across the country for more than a week now.
Chairman PTA said telecom companies are currently utilizing 265 MHz of spectrum. The regulator plans to make an additional 567 MHz available for 5G services, with efforts in place to persuade the government to offer this spectrum at a lower cost.
The chairman also noted that Saudi Arabia sold its spectrum at $90,000 per megahertz, while Pakistan previously sold 4G spectrum at $29 million per megahertz. The aim is to keep the cost of spectrum low to benefit local consumers, he stated.
Reference Link:- https://propakistani.pk/2024/08/21/pta-chairman-reveals-5g-launch-date/
Zamir Ahmed Awan is the founder and Chair of the Global Silk Route Research Alliance, a think tank in Islamabad. He studied engineering at Shanghai University in the 1980s, and years later he went back to China as Pakistan's science counsellor in Beijing, from 2010 until 2016, working on science and higher education cooperation between the two countries.…
