Pakistan to auction 600 MHz spectrum as 5G policy enters final stage: IT Minister

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja said on Wednesday that Pakistan’s 5G Spectrum Policy was in its final stage, adding that the government would soon auction over 600 MHz of spectrum to strengthen 3G and 4G networks and pave the way for 5G rollout.

Speaking at the 26th Meeting of the South Asian Telecommunication Regulators’ Council (SATRC-26), she said Pakistan had achieved key milestones under its Digital Nation Pakistan agenda.

“We now have over 200 million mobile subscribers and 150 million broadband users, showing one of the fastest data adoption rates in Asia,” she said.

Highlighting the sector’s growth, Shaza Fatima noted that data usage in Pakistan had risen by 70% over the past five years, while telecom revenues grew 17% annually, contributing Rs1.5 trillion to the national exchequer.

She said Pakistan’s e-commerce sector had reached $7.7 billion, projected to surpass $10 billion next year, while ICT exports were rising by nearly 20% annually.

The minister shared that Pakistan had made major progress in digital governance, with 98% of federal offices now using e-office systems, making government operations largely paperless. Over 50 citizen services were currently available online, a number expected to reach 150 by the end of the fiscal year.

She said the State Bank of Pakistan’s Raast system had built a robust digital payments infrastructure, while the National Data Exchange Layer, developed with NADRA’s support, would be launched in December.

“This will form the Pakistan Stack, enabling secure data sharing between the public and private sectors and providing citizens with digital identities and lifelong digital services,” she explained.

Under the Connect 2030 Vision, Pakistan aims to raise average internet speeds to 100 Mbps, expand fiber connectivity, free up 1,000 MHz of spectrum, and align its 5G rollout with global standards — measures expected to bring billions of dollars in economic benefits over the next four years.

She highlighted recent policy steps such as the Digital Nation Pakistan Act and Right-of-Way reforms, which eliminated all fees on fiber deployment nationwide.

“With one directive from the Prime Minister, Pakistan became a Right-of-Way charge-free country,” she said.

She said the 5G Spectrum Policy was in its final stage and would soon lead to the auction of over 600 MHz spectrum to enhance 3G and 4G services and prepare for 5G.

She added that frameworks for Mobile Virtual Network Operators and infrastructure sharing had been approved, while satellite internet regulations were nearing completion.

To make digital access affordable, the government was finalizing a Smartphones for All Policy to make devices more accessible. She said 100,000 laptops were distributed to students each year, and that Google had started assembling Chromebooks in Pakistan — a move expected to boost local manufacturing.

She said the conference would review the progress of the SATRC Action Plan 9 and define priorities for Plan 10, focusing on spectrum harmonisation, cross-border digital links, data governance, cybersecurity, universal connectivity, and innovation.