The Government Profits $279 Million from the Spectrum Auction

Ufone made a proposal of $279 million for a 9MHz block of spectrum in the 1800Mhz, band, which was accepted. Given the absence of any other operators from taking part in the auction process, the overall benefit from the spectrum sale will be $279 million.

As General (Retd.) Amir Azim Bajwa announced only moments ago during a news briefing held at the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority headquarters, the situation is as follows:

PTA established a basic price of $31 million per 1MHz for the 1800MHz band and a price of $29 million per 1MHz for the 2100MHz band, with the 1800MHz band costing the most at $31 million per 1MHz.

General Bajwa acknowledged that only one company, Ufone, had expressed an interest in participating in the auction and that the company would receive the spectrum at the base price.

The Chairman of the PTA stated that the organization has established specific key performance indicators (KPIs) to assure the quality of service and standards of telecommunications and internet services in the country. It was stated by him that a minimum benchmark speed for wireless internet has now been established at 4Mbps, and that it will be mandatory for operators to provide (at the very least) 4Mbps speed on their 4G networks in the future.

If you recall, the new threshold of 4Mbps download and upload speeds will become effective six months from now.

He further stated that operators who fail to fulfil the minimal quality of service requirements will be fined, and that this will be applied to all operators in Pakistan, as stated by the PTA Chairman.

He stated that the PTA will undertake regular Quality of Service (QoS) surveys to guarantee that all operators meet the minimal quality and coverage criteria.

Published in Lahore Herald #SpectrumAuction, #Ufone Published in Lahore Herald