Islamabad:
The Senate Standing Committee on Information Technology (IT) and Telecom was informed on Thursday that Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) was facing problems with the launch of 5G Internet Services in the country.
In a briefing for the committee meeting, led by Senator Palwasha Khan, officials said not all subscribers would switch to 5G as the speed of 4G and 3G services would also improve. They said PTA would take a decision that keeps the market players into account.
The meeting discussed the status of the auction of the 5G spectrum. The PTA officials said 5G demanded more spectrum. They added that a political directive from the government for the new spectrum had been required.
The official said that a lawsuit was allowed in 2017, while an advisory committee was established at 5G. PTA also hired a consultant in November who submitted his report, they said, adding that the 5G spectrum decision would be made by remembering the market players.
What the ministry officials told the committee that there were currently three bands available in Pakistan. They added that after launching 5G, not all subscribers would switch to it at once. They also said that the speed of 3G and 4G services would also increase with the launch of 5G.
Also during the meeting, the Universal Service Fund (USF) officials provided a briefing to the committee on its projects for the past three years. They said that USFS mandate was to provide telecommunications services in rural areas, remote areas, and that it had completed 63 projects in the last three years.
Humayun Mohmand asked the officials about the complaints of the population of the affected areas of Balochistan. The USF officials replied that the services were down in some areas due to security issues.
The chairman asked about the reasons for the internet disorder on the highway. The USF officials replied that PTA had taken up this question and the work was underway to correct the situation.
