Nauman
An official of the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoITT) rejected the allegation of giving favor to any operator in the auction of 3G and 4G additional spectrum.
While talking to ProPakistani, he said that according to Clause 8(2)a of the Telecom Act 1996, the spectrum bidding period is not fixed. The federal government can reduce and extend the period according to the Act.
Last year, the additional spectrum of 1800 MHz was auctioned for 15 years, while the spectrum of 2100 MHz was not sold. He added that the government is going to auction the spectrum of 2100 MHz for 10 years in the top-up spectrum auction.
MoITT is hopeful of a successful auction of 3G and 4G additional spectrum. The MoITT official said that the Ministry is hopeful that it will succeed in the auction of 3G/4G additional spectrum and will get a price higher than that estimated by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).
According to the official, the minutes of the meeting of the Auction Advisory Committee has been prepared and sent to the Ministry of Finance. The minutes will be issued after approval by the Minister of Finance and the Chairman of the Auction Advisory Committee, Miftah Ismail.
A follow-up meeting of the Auction Advisory Committee will be held after the minutes of the first meeting are issued. More consideration will be done in the second meeting, after which the MoITT will issue an additional spectrum policy directive.
