Defence Forces made 30 MHz available in 700 MHz band to government

The government now has access to 30 MHz (2 x 15 MHz) of the 700 MHz band that the Pakistani Defense Forces have made accessible. This brings the total amount of spectrum available for the NGMS / 5G spectrum auction in the nation to about 300 MHz.

Frequency Allocation Board (FAB) has been assigned the responsibility of formally endorsing and advocating for the consideration of the availability of the largest feasible spectrum, which includes 2×15 MHz in the 700 MHz band.

The government, according to further sources, has enough spectrum to offer in any upcoming spectrum auction for NGMS in Pakistan; however, given the country’s economic difficulties and the unpredictability of the 5G rollout, cellular mobile operators (CMOs) are being cautious.

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According to an official, the government possesses spectrum in all ITU bands designated for the NGMS auction, including bands above 700, 2100, 2300, 2600, and 3300 MHZ that are appropriate for 5G. The same can be put up for auction with a technology-neutral vision, meaning that it can be used for the country’s leisurely rollout of 5G as well as the implementation of 4G in 2100, 2300, and 2600.

Two MHz of the 2100 band have already been allocated by the government to the CMOs, and an additional two MHz of the 2100 band have been put up for auction.

Furthermore, of the available 95 MHz in the 2300 band, only 5 MHz have already been assigned. In the 2600 band, where 140 MHz is the subject of a lawsuit, the government also owns 54 MHz and intends to release it early.

The optimum use case for FWA is in the remaining bands, where 185 MHz has already been allotted and 115 MHz is accessible in the 3300–3600 range. These three bands are thought to be the most ideal for improving 4G and launching 5G in the nation.

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“Framework for Frequency Spectrum re-farming” has also been drafted by the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication in order to manage the spectrum dynamically and make it available for emerging uses including digital television, broadband wireless access, 4G, and 5G.

Section 8.5.1 of the Telecom Policy 2015 states that when spectrum is underutilized and not being used to its full potential, or where its use is not in line with recent international allotments, it will be re-farmed.

According to the specifics of this framework, current users and license holders shall totally relinquish their spectrum allocations in a given band to allow the band to be assigned to new users.

A set of administrative, financial, and technological strategies known as “spectrum reframing” are used to remove equipment from current frequency assignments, either totally or partially, from a certain frequency range. The same or separate services could then be assigned to the frequency band.