ISLAMABAD The auction process for 3G and 4G spectrum licenses in Pakistan began Wednesday and is expected to revolutionise the telecom sector and raise more than $1.3 billion, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).
Four companies are participating in the bidding process. The bidders have been assigned different colours which they will use instead of their company's name, the sector's regulator said.
There will be multiple rounds of bidding. The duration of each round will be at least 45 minutes or more. Results will be announced after each round at PTA website (www.pta.gov.pk).
The Auction will take place using an electronic System which will allow the bidders to participate in the auction. PTA has chosen the Simultaneous Multiple Round Ascending (SMRA) Auction mechanism. SMRA is the most preferred auctioning mechanism and is widely used in modern day auctions worldwide.
It is also preferred over the traditional open cry out auctioning model as SMRA allows both auctioneer and bidder flexibility to simultaneously bid on lots of their choice, privacy and time to make educated decisions during the auction.
Some of recent auctions conducted in various countries were all SMRA based auctions.
In the first phase, services will be available in Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar and Quetta. The second phase will start a year-and-a-half later and will expand the services to another 80 cities.
The launch of spectrum technology will help public in urban and rural areas access to next generation telecom services across the country.
According to Chairman PTA Dr Ismael Shah, over 900,000 jobs generation is anticipated with the launch of spectrum, which will have multiple benefits for country’s economy.
The country’s cellular subscribers in particular have long been waiting to consume high-speed data services on their smart devices, while experts say country-wide rollout of 3G technology will bring unlimited benefits to the social sector-education and health in particular.
