ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, chaired the meeting of the Advisory Committee for the release of Next Generation Mobile Services (NGMS) spectrum in Pakistan held at the Finance Division today.
Chairman PTA briefed the Advisory Committee about the latest developments in the sale of the available spectrum of next-generation mobile services in the country.
While appreciating the sale of the maximum possible spectrum, the Finance Minister stated that it will contribute to overall economic growth through digitalisation and improve the quality of broadband services in Pakistan.
The Committee was also briefed that the hiring process for the consultants was completed in December 2020 as per procedure and newly hired consultants are on board for the sale of available spectrum within the current financial year.
The Finance Minister urged the consultants to follow a proactive approach and meet the given deadlines effectively. He emphasised that the time is of the essence in the release of NGMS Spectrum and the whole process of an auction must be transparent for strengthening and expanding communications/IT Services across the country. The next follow-up meeting of the Advisory Committee is expected to take place in March 2021.
In the budget for FY2020-21 government set a revenue target of Rs 27 billion through the sale of 3G and 4G licences. However, according to sources if the government decides to sell 5G licenses, it could earn over $500 million.
Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry, Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Syed Amin ul Haque, Adviser to the PM on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood, Chairman PTA Major General (R) Aamir Azeem Bajwa, Secretary Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, Executive Director Frequency Allocation Board and other senior officials participated in the meeting.
