According to official documents issued by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA),
Pakistan is currently experiencing the region’s worst spectrum shortage, with only 274 MHz of spectrum available.
The terms of spectrum availability, the nation lags behind several peers in the region, such as Saudi Arabia, Thailand, and Bangladesh. Thailand and Bangladesh each have 600 MHz of spectrum, while Saudi Arabia has 1200 MHz.
The shortage has prompted the government to move toward the auction of 5G spectrum to address quality of service issues and growing network congestion. Spectrum has already been made available for the upcoming auction, which is being overseen by an Auction Advisory Committee, by the Frequency Allocation Board. In 2023, PTA started the auction process, and in November 2024, it hired an international consultant to do a market analysis, figure out how much spectrum is worth, and suggest a design for the auction.
According to PTA documents, the introduction of the 5G spectrum is expected to have a significant economic impact. Estimates suggest it could contribute a 1.5 to 2.4% increase in Pakistan’s GDP and create between 3.1 and 13% more employment opportunities. The national economy is also expected to benefit significantly from a 10% rise in mobile broadband penetration.
The documents further revealed that spectrum availability could directly boost foreign direct investment by 2% and increase exports by up to 1.9%. Pakistan is one of the few countries that still lags in regional and global rankings, as 101 countries around the world have already launched 5G services.
In terms of spectrum allocation, Pakistan ranks last out of 16 regional nations. However, PTA estimates indicate that Pakistan will rise to sixth place in the region following the successful spectrum auction.
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