Islamabad:
On Thursday, the Permanent Committee of the Senate on Information Technology (TI) and Telecom was informed.
In an informative session to the committee meeting, chaired by Senator Palwlawa Khan, the authorities said that not all subscribers would change to 5G, since the speed of 4G and 3G services would also improve. They said the PTA would make a decision taking into account the actors in the market.
The meeting discussed the state of the 5G spectrum auction. PTA officials said 5G required more spectrum. They added that a government policy directive for the new spectrum was required.
The official said that a trial was allowed in 2017, while an advisory committee had been formed in 5G. The PTA also hired a consultant in November, who presented his report, they said, adding that the 5G spectrum decision would be taken taking into account the actors in the market.
TU Ministry officials told the committee that currently, there were three bands available in Pakistan. They added that after the 5G launch, not all subscribers would change to him at the same time. They also declared that the speed of 3G and 4G services would also increase with the 5G launch.
Also during the meeting, the officials of the Universal Service Fund (USF) gave an informative session to the committee of their projects in the last three years. They said that the USF mandate was to provide telecommunications services in rural and remote areas and that it had completed 63 projects in the last three years.
Humayun Mohmand asked the officials about people’s complaints in the affected areas of Baluchistan. USF officials responded that the services were low in some areas due to security problems.
The president asked about the reasons for internet interruption on the highway. The USF officials responded that the PTA had addressed this problem and that the work was underway to rectify the situation.
