Source: TECHINASIA
It’s been a long time coming, but Pakistan will soon be holding its spectrum auction for 3G and 4G networks. Three 3G licenses and two 4G licenses will be sold at the auction, which is slated for April 23. A 3G license will be sold for a minimum price of US$295 million, and the 4G rights for $210 million. The auction comes at a time when Pakistan’s government is undertaking major structural reforms to promote growth within the economy. Pakistan has a vibrant mobile market with five operators providing 2G services to a total of 133.7 million subscribers. Those customers are worth $2.25 each per month to the telcos in terms of ARPU. Mobile subscriber numbers have grown rapidly in the country, up 4.7 percent between June 2013 and January this year. This is the current scene: A report by Plum Consulting (PDF link) predicts that with the deployment of 3G in Pakistan, the number of broadband subscribers will rise from its current 3.35 million to 45 million by 2020 in the more optimistic high-demand forecast, or to 25 million in the low-demand forecast (see chart below). Pricing will play a pivotal role in terms of adoption, as currently users are able to get unlimited access to 2G data services for about PKR 150 ($1.50) per month for 1GB of data.
It’s been a long time coming, but Pakistan will soon be holding its spectrum auction for 3G and 4G networks. Three 3G licenses and two 4G licenses will be sold at the auction, which is slated for April 23. A 3G license will be sold for a minimum price of US$295 million, and the 4G rights for $210 million. The auction comes at a time when Pakistan’s government is undertaking major structural reforms to promote growth within the economy. Pakistan has a vibrant mobile market with five operators providing 2G services to a total of 133.7 million subscribers. Those customers are worth $2.25 each per month to the telcos in terms of ARPU. Mobile subscriber numbers have grown rapidly in the country, up 4.7 percent between June 2013 and January this year. This is the current scene: A report by Plum Consulting (PDF link) predicts that with the deployment of 3G in Pakistan, the number of broadband subscribers will rise from its current 3.35 million to 45 million by 2020 in the more optimistic high-demand forecast, or to 25 million in the low-demand forecast (see chart below). Pricing will play a pivotal role in terms of adoption, as currently users are able to get unlimited access to 2G data services for about PKR 150 ($1.50) per month for 1GB of data.
