Telenor to Continue 4G Service as IHC Hears Petitions from Competition

Islamabad High Court (IHC) during hearing of petition filed by 3 mobile operators Ufone, Zong & Mobilink/Warid against recently launched Telenor’s 850MHz 4G Service, has asked that concerned parties follow 3GPP and other industry standards to minimize any interference during the roll-out period.

The court interim order is in line with the Frequency Allocation Board (FAB) and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) license conditions and Information Memorandum (IM) and is a welcome development to continue with the launch of Telenor 4G service to its consumers till the complete hearing and final decision on the case.

Telenor to Continue 4G Service as IHC Hears Petitions from Competition

Telenor a couple of days back launched their 4G service for its consumer after a getting Spectrum from PTA/FAB where they found themselves the only contestants as other abstained due to various reasons. Telenor Group has recently appointed for the first time a Pakistani Chief Executive Irfan Wahab Khan showing its commitment to the Pakistani Telco Industry after a very soared experience in the neighboring India with issues of Ownership, licensing & Spectrum. The interim court decision is seen by industry analyst with interest as for the time it provides greater stability to the positive changes being seen on the technological front and the concerns shown by some operators a storm in a tea cup to prevent Telenor pursuing its current aggressive mobile broadband growth strategy.

Background:

Telenor acquired 2x10MHz block in 850MHz spectrum for $395 million last month by placing Zong’s spectrum at a gap of 3.5MHz; 3.5MHz also happens to be the recommended industry standard buffer to suppress Out of Band Emissions between the Telenor and other networks. Additionally, this requires certain filters and installation guidelines to be followed during rollout so that any potential interference to other operators specially Zong can be minimized. The IHC Interim court order has very rightly indicated this while it continue to hear the petitions.

Pakistan is witnessing an influx in mobile broadband (MBB) penetration which a very healthy sign of economic recovery. Hence, Telenor’s entry into 4G services is a plus point that will no doubt change Pakistan’s standing from least connected countries to the well-connected countries.

Also Read: Telenor is Giving 4G SIMS to Limited Customers for Trial Basis