Even though the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has recommended that the federal government begin work on 5G immediately, everyone was anticipating a release (partial) in early 2023. However, even though we are in the year 2023, there are still a number of obstacles that are preventing 5G from being available in some areas. A Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) annual report released on Monday stated that the relevant government authorities must overcome a number of significant obstacles in order to implement new technology.
According to the report, low tower density, a lack of feasible use cases, and low optical fiber cable (OFC) penetration were among the most significant obstacles to the implementation of 5G in Pakistan. Rising inflation, low average revenue per user (ARPU), high operational costs like power and gasoline prices, and excessive taxation all posed additional threats to the nation’s successful rollout of 5G services.
Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication
In a letter to the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, PTA has called for the development of 5G technology to begin. The letter suggested that the 5G guidelines be approved by the federal government and that all departments begin working on them.
MoITT and PTA demand that the 5G homework be completed; at least three are needed to hire an international consultant. In order to advertise the hiring of an international consultant in international newspapers, PTA will need to involve Pakistani embassies and foreign offices. After the consultant is hired, it takes more than six months to prepare the report.
The International will provide the PTA with a comprehensive report after consulting with all stakeholders and operators. After the review, the federal government can request that the consultant revise the report.
Sources in the PTA say that this homework is necessary whenever the government will launch 5G. If this exercise takes six to nine months to complete, the government will be able to launch 5G on time. Additionally, the work will provide an idea of what stakeholders and the industry want. After soliciting feedback from all parties involved, a report on the MoITT’s draft guidelines for 5G was presented to the federal government. Maj Gen Amir Azeem Bajwa is in charge of PTA.
However, the PTA stated that the nation has made significant progress on the policy front and has advanced to an “advanced” version of fifth-generation regulation (G5).
According to the report, “I take pride in sharing that Pakistan has leapt to an ‘advanced’ level of fifth-generation (G5) regulator in the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) 2022 regulators’ ranking,” the ITU’s recognition of Pakistan/PTA is evidence of Pakistan’s rapid evolution in ICT regulations and move toward collaborative regulations.
“Despite being in the “Advanced” stage of the G5 benchmark, Pakistan is very close to reaching the “Leading” stage. Because innovations are more widespread across a variety of industries, including banking, education, commerce, health, and agriculture, among others, PTA collaborates with a variety of sector regulators and ministries.
PTA is closely following up with MoITT, other stakeholders, and public authorities on a number of points that require national collaborative action plans in order to reach this level. Pakistan was one of 58 countries ranked as an “Advanced” G5 nation in the benchmarking conducted in 2021 for its readiness for G5 regulations.