In a landmark move for Pakistan’s telecommunications sector, the government successfully concluded its first-ever 5G spectrum auction, raising $507 million. The auction, conducted on Tuesday by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), saw three major operators—Jazz, Zong, and Ufone—securing a total of 480 MHz of spectrum out of the 597 MHz offered. This injection of new frequency is expected to double the country’s current spectrum capacity, which has long been a bottleneck for mobile internet quality.
Jazz emerged as the primary investor, securing 190 MHz across four different bands, followed by Ufone with 180 MHz and Zong with 110 MHz. While the 2600 MHz and 2300 MHz bands were fully sold out, some lots in the 700 MHz and 3500 MHz bands remained, and the 1800 MHz and 2100 MHz bands received no bids. Beyond the spectrum sale, the government made a policy breakthrough by becoming the first in Asia to abolish right-of-way (RoW) charges, significantly lowering the cost for fiber deployment. 4G quality is expected to improve within months, while 5G rollouts in major cities are anticipated by the end of 2026.
