Telecom companies and members of the international business have urged Islamabad to reduce spectrum pricing and remove regulatory barriers as the government has stepped up talks on the much anticipated 5G spectrum auction.
In Islamabad, telecom companies and a team from the GSM Association (GSMA) met with the Spectrum Auction Advisory Committee, which is headed by Finance Minister Aurangzeb, to talk about the structure of the next 5G auction.
Industry-related issues
The high cost of spectrum and high taxes were cited by telecom operators in their recommendations as the main barriers to network development. They emphasized that the nation runs the risk of slower adoption of 5G technology if pricing concerns are not resolved.
Following the conference, GSMA’s Asia Pacific Head, Julian Gorman, informed reporters that Pakistan might lose anywhere from $1.8 billion to $4.3 billion in economic gains.
