ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has also provided its Spectrum Sharing Framework to the Ministry of IT and Telecom which is a policy framework developed and approved by PTA itself through Clause 8.16 of the Telecom Policy 2015 that is pending for federal government approval to change the spectrum usage model of the telecom operators of Pakistan altogether. Spectrum sharing framework Pakistan initiative is related to eight frequencies which include 700, 850, 900, 1800, 2100, 2300, 2600, and 3500 MHz. It will increase the spectrum efficiency along with the speed up process of 4G and 5G deployments in Pakistan.
This framework enables licensed telecommunications companies, which are eligible for the same license, to use the shared spectrum within these bands – an enabling factor that facilitates the ability of the licensee to maximize coverage using the same frequencies without making duplicate investment in order to accomplish the same coverage level independently. The companies sharing the spectrum need to meet the rollout targets, QoS targets, and other regulatory requirements of their licenses.
Spectrum Sharing aims at boosting the pace of digital growth through rapid 4G deployment as more than 30% of Pakistan is not covered by 4G networks
The spectrum sharing policy in Pakistan developed by the PTA aims at addressing the gap in connectivity which telecom industry experts have been pointing out as one of the basic structural obstacles to digital growth, where over 30% of Pakistan’s population is yet to be covered under 4G connectivity, with even less than 2% fixed broadband penetration.
The reduction in redundancy of the proposed framework is precisely aimed at tackling the cost structure which has been the main hindrance to growth in terms of coverage within the rural and semi-urban regions of Pakistan, wherein the high costs associated with building independent towers and antennae structures for each company have always been higher than their revenue prospects in the sparsely populated regions.
Framework for WLANs 2024 offers Wi-Fi 6E & Wi-Fi 7 access to the 6 GHz band
Parallel to the ongoing work on the PTA’s spectrum sharing framework for Pakistan, the PTA developed the Framework for WLANs 2024, allowing access to the 6 GHz frequency band for unlicensed operations. The availability of the 6 GHz band enables manufacturers of wireless devices, Internet Service Providers (ISPs), and enterprises to utilize channel widths much larger than those currently used by Wi-Fi in the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands, which are shared by various wireless technologies.
Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 running on 6 GHz frequencies would offer significantly faster and lower latency service to Pakistani companies, educational institutes, and residents; as opposed to the advancements in mobile networks that the PTA spectrum allocation scheme seeks to achieve through cellular frequency bands.
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District level internet licenses and ROW charges lead to growth in digital infrastructure
PTA started issuing licenses under the category of “District Level Class License for Internet Services” starting January 1, 2026, thereby opening up the market for internet services in Pakistan, whereby only local players would be issued licenses on the basis of 10 years tenure and operating within only one district. These licenses would entail fees of Rs.20,000 (application processing), Rs.300,000 (license issuance).
PTA spectrum sharing scheme Pakistan proposal comes at a time when there is an equivalent drop in the Right of Way fees, which have been a hindrance to the rollout of fiber optic networks in the past. After directives from the Prime Minister in 2025, notifications were released by the Capital Development Authority, National Highway Authority, Punjab, Balochistan, and Sindh administrations nullifying or slashing ROW fees to zero, thus addressing a key issue raised by telecom firms regarding their expansion in the fixed line network sector.
The only aspect of the ROW waiver scheme that remains to be sorted out is the cantonment region, which has been tasked to the Minister for Economic Affairs by the Prime Minister to liaise with the Ministry of Defence in order to iron out any pending issues therein. Telecom operators have expressed their intention to greatly enhance their wired network in view of the sorting out of the cantonment issue, thereby rounding up the process of ROW charge exemption that comes hand in hand with the PTA spectrum sharing framework in Pakistan.
