International media earlier today spread the news that 3G and 4G auction in Pakistan may be postponed due to poor response from the bidders. They also claimed that Federal Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar is angry upon the issue and might announce that no bidding will take place on 23rd of April.
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) announced that this news is hoax and 4 mobile companies have been confirmed to be taking part in the auction. They also said that Ministry of Finance has nothing to do with the auction and this auction has been conducted by an independent regulator. It has been confirmed by PTA that on 17th of April the final candidates for the auction will be announced.
30 megahertz spectrum for 3G and 20 megahertz spectrum for 4G will be presented for the auction. In order to earn 4G license, it will be mandatory to earn 3G license.
During the auction 4 expected companies are Telenor, Ufone, Zong and Mobilink. Zong being the strongest financial contender but it is highly expected that other three companies will give tough time to Zong in the auction.
Although it is a fact that PTA and government of Pakistan was expecting much more from the auction as they tried to invite foreign companies in the auction as well but the situation did not turn out as per expectations of the government.
It is expected that after the auction, government will be able to generate around 1 Billion to 2 Billion dollars and sales of smartphones will also see new heights in Pakistan which in turn will strengthen the economy of Pakistan.
