With revenues from telecom companies not looking as good as they were once projected, Ministry of Information and Technology Pakistan is considering 3G spectrum auctions to boost revenue. According to one estimate, this can generate Rs 60 billion during the financial year 2010-11. The big question is if the buyers are will willing to pay that price. At the same time, US is said to be planning to release 500 MHz for broadband. Rohan Samarajiva asks – When will Asian governments get to work on refarming spectrum distribution to help mobile broadband thrive?
Aslam Hayat, a regulatory consultant provides a concise history of spectrum allocation policy in his article – How Pakistan Handled Spectrum: Lessons for Others?
Pakistan introduced mobile cellular telephony early, in 1990. Although there was no clear spectrum management policy or roadmap available prior to 2004, the issuance of four mobile cellular licenses and the assignment of spectrum to those licensees were remarkably well thought out.
…In 2003, when action was taken to issue two more mobile cellular licenses, the need for a proper spectrum allocation mechanism and road map arose. At that time only 2×5 MHz of the 900 GSM band was unassigned and it was expected that the clear preference of the new entrants would be GSM
…The auction design for two mobile cellular licenses was not ideal but a number of steps were taken to find the winner as quickly as possible instead of focusing on maximizing the initial fee…as a result of the regulatory principles, predictability, transparency and clarity of the Mobile Cellular Policy 2004, Pakistan managed to attract foreign investors to participate in the auction.
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