The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has concluded the auction of 1800MHz spectrum in two of the country’s regions, with several operators acquiring holdings.
TeleGeography reports that the regulator auctioned spectrum for Next Generation Mobile Services (NGMS) in the regions of Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB). Comprised of 18 rounds of bidding, the auction was conducted online.
Upon the auction’s conclusion, China Mobile’s Zong bid USD14.398 million for 10MHz (2×5MHz) in the 1800MHz band, with the PTA noting that this holding accounts for “85% of the total offered spectrum in the said band for AJK and GB.” However, Telenor Pakistan and Ufone were also able to obtain 1.2MHz of spectrum in this band.
Additionally, Telenor Pakistan obtained a further 15MHz of spectrum in the 2100MHz band “against the set base price” – representing half of the available spectrum in this frequency. The regional auction generated over US$30 million.
