Report by Engineering Post
Mainly owing to the indecision of the Competitive Commission of Pakistan (CCP) regarding proposed merger between Telenor Pakistan and Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation Limited (PTCL) ‘s owned Ufone , Pakistan’s quite eagerly awaited 5G spectrum auction has been delayed at least by four months to say the least.
As a result of this rather unwelcome delay, questions have now been raised about the prospective number of telecom operators who will be eligible to participate in the next generation spectrum auction and doubts have also been raised about the future of digital expansion in the country .
According to the information available from the Federal Ministry of Information Technology sources in Islamabad, the projected 5G services can possibly only be launched at least three months after the Federal Government has finalized its policy in this regard and the same is also duly announced .
It is worth mentioning here that the Advisory Committee which was going to be tasked with guiding the auction process was itself yet to be convened. Whereas the international consultant engaged by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) engaged for the 5G project has already completed its technical assessment.
The projected delay on the whole has been attributed to the rather escalating geopolitical tensions in the region particularly the lingering deteriorating relations between the neighboring countries of Pakistan and India, both of which are nuclear powers also.
