The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) confirmed plans to auction spectrum for mobile broadband services, following a policy directive issued by the Ministry of Information Technology (MOIT). The licences will be technology-neutral, allowing licensees to deploy any technology including 3G and LTE. The information memorandum on the auction process is being prepared by the PTA, and the tentative date for the auction is March 2012. The auction process will be overseen by a joint professional group (Auction Supervisory Committee) comprising public sector stakeholders, including representatives of the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Information Technology, PTA and FAB. The PTA is also planning to hold investor conferences in Karachi and Islamabad and international road shows. At the same time the regulator will auction a licence in the 800MHz band, previously held by the now defunct operator Instaphone. An information memorandum on the licence will be issued shortly.
