Federal Minister for Information Technology (IT) and Telecommunications Shaza Fatima Khawaja has announced that the government would auction the 600-megahertz (MHz) spectrum next month, ultimately introducing 5G services and faster internet speeds.
Referring to Pakistan as a “spectrum-starved country”, she said that the 600MHz spectrum auction procedure had been cleared by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) and the auction is expected to take place within the next two months.
“The spectrum available for our telecom industry is extremely limited,” the minister said, adding that telecom operators were currently providing services using just 274MHz.
“We are a country of 240 million people with only 274MHz of spectrum,” she said and compared Pakistan’s spectrum availability to that of other nations in the region.
She noted that Bangladesh, with about two-thirds of Pakistan’s population, provides 600MHz.
The range of radio frequencies utilised to send wireless signals for radio, television, cell phones and internet services is referred to as spectrum. Certain frequency bands within this spectrum are used by mobile technology, such as 3G, 4G and 5G. While Bangladesh, India, Bhutan, the Maldives and Sri Lanka are among the South Asian nations that have introduced 5G services, Pakistan has not been able to do so yet.
The minister said Pakistan’s spectrum availability was the lowest in the region due to the absence of major spectrum auctions over the past several years. She said the upcoming auction would support improvements in existing services and pave the way for new technology.
“It will not only improve our 3G and 4G services, but also introduce 5G in Pakistan for the first time,” she said.
Internet connectivity, according to Khawaja, should be seen as “critical infrastructure” just like highways were in the past.
She said internet plays a role in social sector development, economic policymaking, and national and personal security. “We cannot advance without this degree of connectivity.”
In order to boost economic activity and generate job prospects, she continued, connection should be viewed as an “enabling tool”.
Khawaja said that the government was trying to make sure the auction was completed by the end of January or the beginning of February.
The minister linked the auction to the government’s digitisation agenda under the Digital Nation Pakistan Act, 2025, saying internet access was central to these efforts.