Five international consultants have qualified for technical bids to assist the Pakistani government in the 5G spectrum auction. This initiative is aimed at improving Next Generation Mobile Broadband Services throughout the country.
The official sources have revealed that the financial bids of these firms are expected to be opened on October 3, 2024. The government expects to complete the 5G spectrum auction by April next year 2025.
The qualified consultants include Aetha Consulting Limited, Detecon Consulting FZ-LLC, Frontier Economics Limited, Kom Konsult (Private) Limited and National Economic Research Associates Inc.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) in particular was very comprehensive when it examined the technical bids in light of the legal guidelines provided under the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA).
At first, ten consultants from different countries showed interest in the project with eleven proposals submitted. However, JHK Construction Company was disqualified because it expressed its interest in the wrong category since it deals with construction, not consultancy services.
The selected consultants shall offer policy advice on policy changes required to support infrastructure investment and broadband deployment and the future sustainability and development of the telecommunications sector.
These will include benchmarking of current cellular spectrum holding in Pakistan with the regional counterparts, analysis of the gap, and making recommendations for phased spectrum auction of paired and unpaired spectrum across various bands including 700 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, 2600 MHz, and 3500 MHz.
Further, the consultants will define the price of the spectrum bands both in USD and PKR, and forecast for the next three years. They will also discuss other ways of making payments including flexible lending options and scenario-based pricing.
As for health risks connected with 5G, they will not be dismissed; the consultants are to propose measures for reducing human exposure to electromagnetic fields in denser networks.
Finally, the final report on spectrum valuation will include the base price in both USD and PKR and future price trends for three years for both paired and unpaired spectrum bands.
