Ministry of IT seeks cabinet’s consent to roll out 5G

In a move to show the commitment of the Pakistan government to improving its technological capabilities, the Ministry of Information and Technology (MoIT) on Thursday sought the approval of the Federal Cabinet in a bid to roll out 5G services in Pakistan.

The approval of the 5G rollout will be instrumental to the improvement of mobile broadband services in Pakistan. This approval will allow the Ministry of Information and Technology to test the latest technology in mobile communications in Pakistan. It would also mean that Pakistan will be among the few countries that will have the 5G technology ready to be launched by the year 2020. These include the US, the UK, China and a few others.

The proposal from the Ministry of Information and Technology included directions for the Frequency Allocation Board (FAB) and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA). These two government bodies play an important role in the communications sector including allocation of bandwidth and putting in place a regulatory framework for mobile broadband services.

Anusha Rahman, the State Minister for IT, lauded the steps taken by the Ministry of Information and Technology in improving the broadband services in the country. The minister also stated that the government was committed to ensuring that its citizens enjoyed the best communication services possible.

Although the 5G network services are still in their developmental stages, they will receive standardization in the year 2019 by the International Telecommunication Union Radio communication sector. The Pakistan government’s approach has been to first create a regulatory framework for the testing of the network followed by its rollout at the end of the testing period. The regulatory framework focuses on the basis of issuing licenses, the testing environment, duration of testing, reissuing of the licenses among other aspects.

To successfully implement the 5G network, the PTA will work hand in hand with various stakeholders in the communication sector including equipment manufacturers, telecom service providers, and other bodies. The proposal to the government will lay out the actual plans to be executed.