Govt Plans to Roll Out 5G in Five Major Cities of Pakistan

Senior officials from the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication (MoITT) have said that the country’s 5G service will be launched in stages. In the first phase, 5G will be rolled out in Pakistan’s five capital cities: Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Quetta, and Peshawar. As all other nations, according to MoITT officials, are working on a phased launch strategy for 5G, and the Government of Pakistan (GoP) will follow the suit.

The government has shared a draft of a 5G policy with the industry and other stakeholders. According to sources, the ministry has received feedback from one or two operators and is waiting for feedback from other stakeholders. At the request of the stakeholders, the deadline for comments on the draft policy guidelines has been extended to February 28, 2022. The draft will be presented to the Federal Government after receiving comments from the industry. Consequently, the GOP will release 5G policy instructions based on the ministry’s orders.

Govt Plans to Roll Out 5G in Five Major Cities of Pakistan

In the fourth quarter of 2022 or the first quarter of 2023, the government intends to launch 5G in some cities. A spectrum advisory council has been established in this regard, and incentives for spectrum deployment will be outlined in the upcoming finance bill. The Ministry of Finance will finalize incentives in consultation with the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunications, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), the Frequency Allocation Board (FAB), and other relevant stakeholders, which will be reflected in the Financial Bill 2022-23.

PTA will appoint consultants for the 5G auction in the country, according to officials, following a policy instruction from the Federal Government. These consultants’ recommendations will be forwarded to the Federal Government, and once approved, PTA will initiate plans for the commercial introduction of 5G.

Jazz, Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), Telenor Pakistan, and Zong are among the telecom companies that have successfully completed 5G testing in Pakistan. The GoP will issue policy directives after receiving input from the industry on draft policy guidelines, after which the hiring of consultants and other processes will begin.

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