Updates from 3G/4G License Auction

Updates from 3G/4G License Auction

3G/4G License Auction is expected to start on 11:00 a.m at Crystal Ball Room, Marriott Hotel, Islamabad. The sealed bids were submitted to PTA on April 14, 2014 and today PTA will auction the three licenses for the third generation telecom (3×10 MHz licenses in the 2100MHz spectrum band) at minimum base price of $295 million each. Similarly, auction of two licenses of 4G (2x10MHz paired spectrum in 1800 MHz band) would be offered at base price of $210 million each.

Update: 3G/4G License Auction

• The stalls of operators have been set outside the auctioning hall, having their representatives to give information and demonstrate their 3G network.
• 10:40 AM: Chairman PTA, Dr. Ismail Shah visited all the stalls and formal demonstration was given to him by the operators. (For pictures view Picture gallery)

• 11:13 AM: The auctioning hall is almost house full of all the guests and stakeholders.

• 11:20 AM:There are 2 lots of 10 MHz and two lots of 5 MHz in 2100 MHz spectrum
• Phone World team is the only team fully equipped to provide LIVE updates.

• 11:30 AM: The formal session started with Tilawat-e-Quran Pak.
• 11:38 AM: Introductory speech is being given, an overview of 3G and 4G is being explained.
• 11:41 AM: PTA Chairman is on stage giving a welcome speech to the attendances.

• 11:43 AM: chairman PTA said that he is  feeling overwhelmed as the auction is finally happening.
• 11: 45 AM: “PTA is the best regulator one can have”, Chairman PTA
• 11: 48 AM: “The long term benefits of the auction are far more important than bidding prices” Chairman PTA
• 11:49 AM: National Anthem being recited
• 11:51 AM: Chairman PTA starts his presentation on 3G/4G auction process

• Companies are given the option of 3Wavers, which they can use to skip a round.
• The results of ROUND 2 will be displayed soon!
• 12:12 PM: According to PTA Chairman, 4G quality must be good if any operator wants to buy its license. So it is mandatory for the operator to get 10MHz bandwidth in 2100 as well as 1800 MHz
• Round 2 Result: Only one operator which applied for 10MHz has increased its price from $295 Million to $300 Million

• 12:15 PM: The price for lot D has increased, while the price for lot A, B and C remains the same.
• 12:20 PM: Tea Break, all the attendees are lining up for tea and gearing up for ROUND 3.
• 12:25 PM:The Video conferencing arrangement for the operator namely Zong, Mobilink and Telenor are inside the hotel premises.

• 12:28 PM:Media briefing is being given by Pervaiz Iktikhar and Dr. Ismail
• 01:04 PM:The lunch is almost over, people are leaving the hall, as the bids will continue to increase every 45 minutes.
• 1:10 PM: Result of ROUND 3

• Round 3: The price of lot A has been increased by 3% from $295 million to 300.9 million, while other remain the same.
• The total amount till now from just 3G auction had reached to $896.8 million.

• 1:41 PM: Updates till now – Two operators are biding for 10 MHz bandwidth in 2100 MHz spectrum, while other two are biding for 5 MHz spectrum. The price for 10 MHz bandwidth increased to $300.9 Million while for 5 MHz the price is still steady at $147.5 Million. The total price for the whole 3G auctioning is $896.8 million.
• 1:50 PM:Till now the names of bidders are not disclosed and we can only predict what will happen next, but a Ufone’s representative gave us a hint that ‘It’ll be a surprize for everyone!’

• 2:45 PM:The result of Round 4 has been displayed

• Round 4: Lot A price has been updated and is increased from $300.9 Million to $306.92 Million, while the price of Lot B and C of 5 MHz   remain the same i.e. $147.5 Million. Lot D on the other hand did not increased it’s price and remained on the same  i.e. $300.9 Million.
• 2:50 PM:The next round started and the result will be updated on 03:45 P.M.
• 3:00 PM:It is still unclear which operator is biding for which bandwidth, It can be assumed that one operator might be biding for one slot of 10 MHz and one slot of 5 MHz which means that it might be possible that one operator is going for 15 MHz bandwidth.
• 3:10 PM:Currently, in the auction hall different screens have been setup displaying the auctioning round results and the main head offices of the telecom companies  from where they are biding.
• 3:33 PM: According to Colin J. Brooks from VALUE PARTNERS “Regarding the auctioning  is so far so good. And the best thing about the process is this that transparency has been ensured and all the telecom operators are showing wide interest. Moreover, Pakistani people will now benefit from next generation mobile service.”
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• 3:45 PM: Round 5: 
• The Prices remain the same as before for all the Lots i.e. for Lot A is $306.92 Million, for Lot B and C is $147.5 Million while for Lot D the price is $300 Million.
• 4:10 PM: PTA Chairman is in the hall, he is having a quick question and answer  session with the media personals.

• 4:15 PM:  PTA Chairman said if the bidding does not increase till the round 6 then the biding will be closed.
• 4:20 PM: He said that the bids will definitely  go higher, 2*5MHz which is stuck at 147.5 million USD will not remain the same. The auctioning process might end till tomorrow as we still have three more rounds to go.
• 4:22 PM: “4G spectrum auction will start after the completion of 3G auction. Operators have shown great interest in 1800MHz spectrum and so we are expecting a good response in its auction”, Chairman PTA.
• 4:25 PM: “After the completion of auction, we will give licenses to companies within a period of thirty days”, Chairman PTA.
• 4:30 PM: “More emphasis was on introducing a new technology in Pakistan and not on revenue generation.”, Chairman PTA.
• 4:45 PM: Round 6:

• 4:50 PM: Round 6: Lot A price is still stuck at $306.9 Million, Lot B and Lot C is at $147.5 Million while Lot D is at $300.9 Million.
• 5:00 PM: We are at Round 6 and the Price for 5 MHz Bandwidth did not exceeded once. From the start it remained on $147.5 Million.
• 5:20 PM: There are speculations in the hall that one operator is biding for two lots i.e. one lot of 10 MHz and one lot of 5 MHz.
• 5:35 PM: It can be seen from the previous rounds that the bidding prices did not change, we can assume that the biding might have been concluded . Lets wait for the Round 7 results just to be clear in 10 minutes.
• 5:52 PM: People are gathering again in the auction hall, the mic is being tested again. It is to be noted that the press conference by the Chairman PTA is to be held at 06:30 P.M.
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• 6:07 PM: The announcement for the Round 7 was to be made at 5:45 P.M ,but till now no update has been giving regarding Round 7.
• 6:09 PM: The PTA website and the screens in the auctioning hall are stuck at Round 6. As the time is 6:10 and the Press briefing of PTA Chairman will start at 6:30 P.M it looks like the Round 7 could be the conclusion of the 3G auctioning. Remember Lot A at the end of Round 6 was priced at $306.9 Million , Lot B and Lot C is at $147.5 Million while Lot D is at $300.9 Million.
• 6:15 PM: The total amount till now from 3G biding is about $902.82 Million.
• 6:33 PM: Update:  Press Conference will start about 7 P.M, Some sources also told that Finance Minister Ishaq Dar might also be present in the Press Conference.
• 6:35 PM: PTA Chairman, Dr. Ismail Shah just entered the auctioning Hall accompanied my Value Partner Consultants.
• 6:37 PM:  PTA Chairman said the auction will continue till the 8th Round.
• 6:38 PM: According to Chairman, they will also announce the 4G spectrum results today as well.
• 6:40 PM: Round 7:

• 6:40 PM: Round 7: As we are getting closer and closer to the ending of the 3G auction. Round 7 Results are in and Lot A for 10 MHz is still at the price of $306.9 Million, Lot B and Lot C of 5 MHz are still at the price of $147.5 Million while Lot D  of 10 MHz is still at $300.9 Million
• 6:47 PM: Final round of bidding is in progress. According to PTA Chairman, the round will be held for shorter time interval and then the results for both 3G and 4G spectrum’s will be announced.
• 6:53 PM: PTA Chairman addressing the audience
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• 6:57 PM: It’s tea time in the auction hall, everyone is getting anxious to know the results, we can see from the plates that people are carrying which are full of deserts and cakes.
• 7:06 PM: According to sources, the speculations are that the two 4G licences have been bought by two telecom operators at the base price. If the speculation is true than the total price of the 3G and 4G auctioning will be for 3G ($306.920+$147.5+$147.5+$300.9=$902.82 Million ) and for 4G ($210+210= $420 Million). The total amount then becomes $1.32 Billion.
• 7:17 PM: We are also hearing that one of the operator is trying to get 15 MHz bandwidth. If this scenario applies then only 3 operators will be getting 3G spectrum, but this is just a speculation. People are whispering a lot into each other’s ears before the final  Round. Lets hope for the best, we will be getting the final result in an hour or so.
• 7:23 PM: Tea is about to get over, audience is still waiting for the ministers arrival.
• 7:37 PM: Still there is no official statement,  just the speculations. People are just gossiping about the auction, while others are making stuff up (Do not believe on speculations by others till confirmed officially)
• 7:37 PM: Mr. Sikandar Naqi, Head of GR at Zong is here at the aution hall
• 7:44 PM: Round 8: the results are still the same no change from Round 7.
• 7:52 PM: It is official from the Round 8 that the Government will be getting $902.82 Million from 3G action alone. (4G spectrum auction is still to be announced).

• 7:54 PM: The audience is still waiting for the Minister to come and declare the winners of the 3G and 4G spectrum.
• 8:08 PM: And the press conference starts.
• 8:13 PM:  Finally Ms. Anusha Rahman, Federal Minister for IT & Telecom and Mr. Ishaq Dar, Federal Minister for Finance have arrived for the press conference.
• 8:17 PM: PTA Chairman said previously, Ufone went for 15 MHz bandwidth while Mobilink, Zong went for 10 MHz.
• 8:19 PM: Final Results are in, Zong won 10 MHz in 2100 MHz and 10 MHz in 1800 MHz.
• 8:19 PM:  Mobilink won 10 MHz in just 2100MHz while Ufone and Telenor got 5MHz in 2100 MHz.
• 8:27 PM: The total amount that has been occupied by 3G/4G auction is $1.1 Billion.
• 8:29 PM: Ishaq Dar said we congratulate PTA and Chairman PTA for this clear and transparent auction.
• 8:35 PM: “It was a very aggressive process. PTA played its due role in holding a transparent auction, Anusha Rahman.
• 8:40 PM: All the concerned parties including the telecom operators are to be credited in this regard. I wish everyone a best of luck for future.
• 8:43 PM: A question regarding youtube was asked on which Ishaq Dar replied it will be unblocked when the blasphemous content is fully removed.

FINAL RESULTS:  Zong have 10 MHz in 2100 MHz and 10 MHz in 1800 MHz, Mobilink won 10 MHz in just 2100MHz while Ufone and Telenor got 5MHz in 2100 MHz. 

The total amount that has been occupied by 3G/4G auction is $1.1 Billion.