Chairman Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), Hafeez Ur Rehman assured that the federal government would ensure the auction of 5G spectrum in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) within a few months after the 5G spectrum auction in the rest of country.
Gilgit-Baltistan Caretaker Minister for Information Technology, Ghulam Abbas, held a meeting with Chairman Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, Hafeez Ur Rehman, in Islamabad on Thursday to discuss the 5G spectrum auction in GB and key connectivity issues in the region.
The caretaker minister stressed that like other parts of Pakistan, Gilgit-Baltistan also requires access to high-speed internet through the new spectrum auction to meet the growing demands of digital connectivity, e-governance, online education, telemedicine, and IT-based business activities.
Ghulam Abbas highlighted that improved internet services are essential for socio-economic development in GB, particularly for youth, students, entrepreneurs, and the tourism sector.
He said the region has immense potential in the IT and digital services domain, but limited bandwidth and connectivity challenges have hindered progress.
The PTA chairman informed the minister that the process for auction of additional spectrum has already been initiated.
PTA has written letters to the GB Council as well as the AJK council and other relevant stakeholders including the ministry of IT & Telecom to facilitate the necessary groundwork for the spectrum auction framework in those areas.
He added due to technical testing, regulatory review, and spectrum-related arrangements, the process of spectrum auction Gilgit-Baltistan and AJK requires additional time.
”There will be a separate auction for those areas and our preference as regulator is that spectrum should be given free of cost in GB and AJK so that the operators may utilise capital expenditure on technical side,” Mr Rehman said.
Chairman PTA assured that the federal government would ensure the auction of 5G spectrum in Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) within a few months after the 5G spectrum auction in rest of the country.
Director General licensing PTA, Amir Shahzad suggested that like AJK government the government of GB too should follow the policy directives of Pakistan by abolishing the Right of Way charges.
The government of Pakistan has directed all its departments and ministries to give free access to IT and telecom fibre networks.
The AJK government has recently issued a notification accelerating the development of IT infrastructure and fiberisation across the region.
Under the new measures, Right of Way (RoW) charges for IT-related infrastructure have been waived. The waiver applies to multiple departments, including Communication & Works, Local Government (Municipal Authorities), Physical Planning & Housing, Energy & Water Resources, Board of Revenue (for government/Khalsa lands), and the Forest Department. In addition, the AJK government has introduced a one-window facility for the grant of NOC for BTS (telecom towers) installation and fiber deployment.
Applications will now be processed through the office of the concerned Deputy Commissioner with a maximum time frame of 15 days for issuance of the NOC.
If departments fail to submit objections within the stipulated time, it will be treated as deemed approval. Restoration costs for damaged infrastructure will be determined under the Market Rate System and paid in advance by telecom operators before commencement of work.
The decision is expected to significantly reduce procedural delays and financial barriers for telecom operators, encouraging rapid expansion of digital connectivity and broadband infrastructure across Azad Jammu & Kashmir.
The GB caretaker IT minister too has asked the GB law department to appraise him over the policy of the GB government in this regard.
Mr Abbas said that he favoured the idea of abolishing ROW for IT and telecom infrastructure as the move will help faster prevalence of internet in the region.
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