The Government of Pakistan has formally green-lit a major initiative to auction roughly 600 MHz of mobile spectrum, an essential prelude to rolling out nationwide 5G services and relieving the country’s acute spectrum shortage. This marks the most significant spectrum release in Pakistan’s telecom history and could set the stage for 5G coverage within the next year.
Spectrum Approval & Auction Timeline
- On 23 Dec 2025, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) approved the spectrum auction framework, confirming that 600 MHz will be put up for bidding and the process is expected to conclude within 4–6 months.
- This spectrum release sets the timeline for the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to issue an Information Memorandum, initiate consultations with operators, and formally kick off the auction.
- Government and PTA officials are targeting an early 2026 completion, with the aim of enabling commercial 5G services later in the year.
Technical & Policy Context
The decision stems from the reality that Pakistan currently operates with only about 274 MHz of assigned spectrum for all mobile broadband services — a figure that places the country among the lowest globally and creates congestion, slower speeds, and poor quality of experience for users.
Introducing ~600 MHz of additional licensed spectrum across multiple bands (including low- and mid-band frequencies suitable for 4G/5G) will:
- Expand capacity and reduce congestion on existing networks.
- Enable effective 5G deployment with improved throughput and latency characteristics compared to 4G LTE.
- Align Pakistan with regional spectrum norms where carriers deploy contiguous blocks in sub-1 GHz and mid bands for broad coverage and performance.
Policy & Regulatory Advances
Parallel to the auction preparations, Islamabad is finalising a 5G spectrum policy which will govern both the technical allocation and commercial conditions of the licenses. This policy package also includes:
- A “Smartphones for All” affordability initiative to broaden device access.
- An infrastructure-sharing framework to reduce deployment costs and accelerate coverage.
- New satellite communication regulations that target connectivity in remote areas.
These measures indicate a comprehensive approach to both spectrum management and digital inclusion.
Economic & Sector Impact
The auction is expected to unlock:
- Investment inflows from both local and foreign telecom operators.
- Quality broadband access improvements essential for digital services, IoT, and enterprise connectivity.
- Broader digital economy growth in line with national technology goals.
For telecom infrastructure developers and backend systems teams, this spectrum availability will drive demand for:
- Enhanced core network upgrades (to support 5G NSA/SA architectures).
- RAN densification and edge computing deployments.
- Real-time analytics and traffic engineering to manage diverse service classes (eMBB, URLLC, etc.).
Takeaway for Engineers & Operators
From a technical perspective, the 600 MHz spectrum auction is a catalyst in Pakistan’s transition toward modern broadband infrastructure. Allocating this much spectrum unlocks capacity and enables operators to architect scalable mobile broadband and 5G networks with sufficient spectral resources for both coverage and capacity layers.
Network planners will need to map out:
- Optimal band use (e.g., low-band for coverage vs. mid-band for capacity).
- Spectrum harmonization strategies to minimize interference and optimize coexistence.
- Deployment timelines aligned with auction outcomes and policy mandates.
Successful deployment could reposition Pakistan’s telecom landscape, bringing it closer to international performance benchmarks.
