Islamabad, Oct 13: PTA Engages US Consultancy Firm to Oversee 5G Auction Process in Pakistan. An international consulting firm based in the United States was chosen to provide advisory services to the Government of Pakistan for the spectrum auction/release of IMT spectrum in order to improve Next Generation Mobile Broadband Services in the nation. The firm placed among the top two companies in technical bids and had the lowest financial bid of $0.750 million.
Media was informed by sources that NERA has received a letter of intent (LOI) from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) requesting a response within seven working days. The purpose of the LOI is to help the government plan to finish the 5G Auction spectrum auction by April 2025.
NERA is regarded as one of the best consulting organizations in the field, with operations throughout Europe and the Far East in addition to its US headquarters.With extensive experience in economic and commercial modeling, particularly with regard to spectrum evaluation, for the government and telecom industries. In terms of technical bids, Aetha Consulting Limited and NERA were equal; however, NERA’s $0.750 million financial bid was the lowest.
In technical bids, all five of the foreign experts qualified to offer consulting services to the Pakistani government. On October 3, 2024, the five firms’ financial bids were opened. After PPRA time was given to all parties for due diligence, no concerns were voiced regarding NERA for either the technical or financial evaluation, and PTA then sent a letter of intent to the consulting firm.
International consultants/firms Aetha Consulting Limited, Detecon Consulting FZ-LLC, Frontier Economics Limited, KomKonsult (Private) Limited, and National Economic Research Associates Inc. were among those that had filed their technical and financial proposals. The consultant will provide recommendations on necessary policy changes and actions for greater investment in infrastructure, the expansion of broadband, and the sustainability and expansion of businesses and sectors.
In order to identify gaps and propose a phase-wise auction of paired spectrum in the 700, 1800, and 2100 MHz bands and unpaired spectrum in the 2300, 2600, and 3500 MHz bands, compare Pakistan’s current cellular/IMT spectrum assignments with regional patterns.
Determine the per-MHz spectrum prices in USD and PKR for the spectrum bands listed in (b) above, taking into account both supply-side and demand-side models for the next three years. The prices also include creative payment choices such as a flexible or dynamic installment plan. Different choices based on scenarios for the price per MHz in relation to payment periods, rollout requirements, etc.
Additionally, a report on the spectrum’s valuation that includes future estimates for the next three years and the base price in USD and PKR for paired spectrum in the 700, 1800, and 2100 MHz bands as well as unpaired spectrum in the 2300, 2600, and 3500 MHz bands.
