News
Norwegian operator is sole bidder for leftover 10 MHz of 850-MHz frequencies.
Telenor has reportedly been granted a 10-MHz block of spectrum in the 850 MHz band in Pakistan for the base price of US$395 million (€274.13 million) after it emerged as the only bidder in the contest.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) made the announcement at a press conference on Thursday, The Nation reported.
The regulator has yet to publish official confirmation of the award.
The paper quoted PTA chairman Syed Ismail Shah as making the announcement at a briefing at the regulator’s head office, at which he confirmed that Telenor will receive the licence within 30 days of paying for it.
Last week local press reports claimed Telenor would likely be the sole bidder for the spectrum – left unsold at a 2014 auction – and Shah confirmed that that was indeed the case.
Telenor is Pakistan’s second largest mobile operator with 37.4 million customers at the end of April and a market share of 28%, according to the PTA.
It is only a whisker behind market leader Mobilink, which had 38.5 million customers at the same date.
However, last month the PTA gave the green light to Mobilink’s planned acquisition of the market’s smallest player Warid Telecom, a deal that will add 11.1 million to its subs base.
