News
Mobilink, Ufone and Zong will not participate in this month’s 850-MHz sale.
Telenor could well be the only bidder in the 850-MHz spectrum auction due to take place in Pakistan later this month, according to local press reports.
The Norwegian operator submitted its application for the process on Wednesday, according to ProPakistani, but its major rivals have indicated that they will not take part.
The Pakistani news service said it has confirmed with regulatory body the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) that Telenor is so far the only bidder, noting that the deadline for submissions is today (Wednesday).
Market leader Mobilink, Pakistan Telecommunications Company Ltd’s (PTCL’s) mobile arm Ufone, and China Mobile’s Zong will not take part, it confirmed.
The news service made no mention of market minnow Warid Telecom, but given that it is on the verge of of closing a deal that will see it become part of Mobilink, it seems unlikely that it will join the auction in its own right.
In mid-May the PTA published an auction timetable that indicated the sale would take place on 13 June with applications due on 1 June, but since then it has pushed back the process by a week. According to media reports, the sale will now take place on 20 June.
The regulator will sell off 10 MHz of spectrum in the 850 MHz band – spectrum that was left unsold at an auction in 2014 – at a base price of US$395 million.
As the sole bidder, Telenor is therefore likely to pick up the airwaves at the reserve price or, according to ProPakistani, at a lower rate to compensate for possible interference issues.
