A woman looks at her mobile phone next to a 5G sign. Photo: Reuters
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan has formally launched the auction of the 5G spectrum on Tuesday, with federal ministers and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) marking the start of the process at a ceremony in Islamabad.
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima, and Federal Minister for Information Atta Tarar, along with PTA Chairman Major General (retd) Hafeezur Rehman, inaugurated the auction.
The first round of the 5G spectrum auction will run for 60 minutes. Three eligible telecom companies are participating in the bidding process.
The PTA has offered 600 megahertz of spectrum for auction. The bidding is being conducted online, while the inaugural ceremony took place at a local hotel in Islamabad.
Addressing the event, PTA Chairman Hafeezur Rehman said the day marked the fulfilment of a long-held vision.
He said the availability of spectrum had been the biggest challenge, adding that the PTA and the Frequency Allocation Board had worked to ensure its availability.
Under the leadership of Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan is advancing towards a digitally empowered future with the launch of 5G technology.
The auction of the 600 MHz spectrum, being conducted for the first time in the country’s history, marks a significant… pic.twitter.com/nsaFfSwPAR— Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (@MoIB_Official) March 9, 2026
“This is a digital highway; this is the engine of Pakistan,” he said, calling it a historic day for the country and the beginning of a new era.
The chairman added that Pakistan had become the first country in Asia to eliminate right-of-way charges, reducing them from Rs36,000 per kilometre to zero.
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He said the government had taken steps to facilitate the industry and expressed hope that the telecom sector would participate actively in the auction.
Speaking at the ceremony, the IT minister described the day as historic for Pakistan, saying the country would now join nations using 5G technology.
She said the quality of 4G services across the country would also improve and described the development as a technological revolution.
Fatima added that Pakistan had set favourable conditions for 5G and that it was the country’s largest spectrum auction. She said 5G services would soon reach five major cities.
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said efforts related to the 5G auction had succeeded and that the government had created a complete ecosystem for the process.
He said 5G had multiple use cases and would support new industries such as blockchain and artificial intelligence.
Aurangzeb added that the spectrum auction would help increase IT exports and improve connectivity.
During a background briefing on Monday, Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima said that efforts had been made to ensure that all three stakeholders could benefit from the spectrum auction.
As most of the demands of telecom companies have been accepted, they will benefit from a reduction in the financial burden. On the other hand, the government will get some money via the spectrum sale and consumers will enjoy fast and reliable internet across the country.
