Committee formed to finalize Pakistan 5G policy guidelines

Pakistan 5G Policy: The government of Pakistan has tasked an advisory council with studying and approving the IMT/ 5G policy guidelines in order to sell off the country’s available spectrum.

The committee will examine a market assessment report and give the go-ahead following the consultant’s recommendations for the design/relevant elements of an investment-friendly IMT/ 5G spectrum to maximize its utilization in line with the Digital Pakistan vision. The committee has also been tasked with reviewing and approving federal government policy directions for changes to the telecom industry and the release of the 5G spectrum.

A recent Economic Coordination Council (ECC) meeting included a proposal to form an advisory council in order to facilitate the release of the unsold spectrum. The formation of the advisory group was approved by the ECC. The committee, which includes the federal ministers of IT and telecommunication, industries and production, and law and justice, as well as the secretaries of the Finance Division, IT and Telecom Division, and Law and Justice Division, the PTA chairman, the executive director of the Frequency Allocation Board, and the director general (tech), will be chaired by the federal minister of finance.

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The advisory council will also have representatives from the Ministry of Defense. The committee will evaluate the spectrum availability in the 700 MHz, 1,800 MHz, 2,100 MHz, and 2,600 MHz bands in accordance with the terms of reference. With the input of many stakeholders, it will review and approve telecom reforms to draw in investment and boost the spread of mobile broadband.

Better mobile broadband access, according to a representative of the IT ministry, is essential for boosting investment, IT exports, and creating new business and employment prospects. The official emphasized that effective frequency spectrum utilization for mobile broadband services was crucial for enabling high-quality mobile broadband connectivity as well as being linked to growth in the GDP, exports, foreign direct investment, and job opportunities. For telecom network development, teledensity increase, and the quality of mobile broadband services, including facilitating the readiness for 5G technology, optimal frequency spectrum usage was essential.

In comparison to international standards, it was claimed that the country’s present utilization of IMT frequency spectrum for commercial cellular services in the 700 MHz, 2,300 MHz, 2,600 MHz, and 3,500 MHz bands was significantly low. According to the federal government’s policy instructions, spectrum auctions for Next Generation Mobile Services (NGMS) in Pakistan were held in 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2021.

As a result, the 1,900/2,100 MHz, 1,800 MHz, and 850 MHz bands of coupled spectrum were auctioned off and given to the cellular mobile operators. The ECC approved the motion after carefully reading the IT ministry’s summary, “Release of IMT spectrum for improvement of Next Generation Mobile Broadband Services in Pakistan.”