Pakistan to hold 5G spectrum auction on Tuesday

ISLAMABAD, Mar 09 (APP):Pakistan will hold its long-awaited auction for Next Generation Mobile Services (NGMS), including 5G spectrum, on Tuesday.

The auction will offer spectrum in six frequency bands, with a total of 597.2 MHz available. Four of these bands are being introduced for the first time to support the rollout of 5G services in the country.

As part of preparations, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) recently held a mock auction session to test the bidding system and ensure a smooth process.

Representatives of telecom operators Jazz, Zong and Ufone joined the session online and tested the specialised auction software.

All three operators have already submitted $15 million each as pre-bid earnest money, bringing the total amount to $45 million.

The government expects to generate more than $634 million from the auction, depending on the level of competition and the final spectrum prices.

Reserve prices have been set in US dollars per MHz and will be converted into Pakistani rupees according to the exchange rate on the day of the auction.

PTA has also set minimum participation requirements to ensure healthy competition and stability in the telecom market.

The auction is seen as a key step in Pakistan’s digital transformation and is expected to significantly improve broadband connectivity across the country.

Earlier, the government formed an advisory committee to recommend policy directions for launching 5G services in Pakistan. PTA also hired an international consultancy firm, NERA, under PPRA rules to review the telecom market, analyse global trends, evaluate spectrum pricing and design the auction framework.

After consultations with stakeholders, including PTA, the Frequency Allocation Board (FAB), Universal Service Fund (USF), telecom operators, vendors, GSMA and the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication, the consultant submitted policy recommendations to the government.

Based on these recommendations, the government issued its final policy directive on January 6, 2026. PTA later released the Information Memorandum and licence template for the auction on January 9.

Under the policy, telecom operators can either pay the full spectrum fee upfront or pay 50 percent initially and the remaining amount in five equal yearly installments at KIBOR plus three percent. A one-year moratorium has also been allowed to support investment.

The auction will include six spectrum bands: 700 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, 2600 MHz and 3500 MHz.

The auction will follow a two-stage clock auction format through an Electronic Auction System. In the first stage, telecom operators will bid for spectrum blocks, while the second stage will determine the exact position of the spectrum within each band.

The process will begin at 10:00am and may finish in one round or continue through several rounds depending on demand.

According to PTA, the rollout of 5G networks will take place in phases over a nine-year period. Each telecom operator will be required to install about 1,000 new sites every year. The initial phase will cover federal and provincial capitals, followed by other cities across the country.

Service quality targets will also improve gradually. 5G download speeds are expected to reach 100 Mbps by 2035, while 4G speeds are targeted to increase to 50 Mbps nationwide.

To support the introduction of 5G, the government has announced several reforms. These include reducing taxes on smartphones to encourage upgrades, promoting local manufacturing and allowing duty-free import of 5G equipment.

A joint task force will also be created to address electricity supply issues faced by the telecom sector. The task force will include the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication, the Ministry of Energy, NEPRA, PTA, telecom operators and power distribution companies.

Pakistan currently has more than 205 million telecom subscribers, with broadband penetration at around 63 percent. Data usage has also increased significantly, rising from 16,250 petabytes in 2021-22 to about 27,727 petabytes in 2024-25.

Commercial 5G services are expected to be launched later in 2026 after the completion of the spectrum auction.

Telecom companies have already placed orders for 5G equipment, while local manufacturing of 5G-enabled smartphones has also begun. So far, around 500,000 to 600,000 units have been produced.

For 5G, minimum download speeds are expected to increase from 50 Mbps initially to 100 Mbps by 2030–35, while latency is targeted to drop to 35 milliseconds. Upload speeds will remain around 20 percent of download speeds for both 4G and 5G services.

PTA estimates that mobile broadband speeds may improve by about 25 percent after the spectrum auction.