Tech Desk 
May 20, 2025
Much to the dismay of Pakistanis eagerly awaiting the 5G launch in the country, the highly anticipated 5G spectrum auction is now expected to be further postponed by at least four months.
5G spectrum auction's progress has reportedly come to a standstill owing to the Competition Commission of Pakistan’s (CCP) delay in approving the proposed merger between Telenor Pakistan and PTCL-owned Ufone.
It also came to light that a minimum of three months will be required after the issuance of policy directives to initiate the 5G rollout, ProPakistani reported, citing sources in the IT ministry.
To reflect on the auction's swift resumption, the advisory committee responsible for guiding the auction will soon commence a meeting, with regional tensions between Pakistan and India further compounding the delay.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) stated that its international consultant has finalised a detailed report wherein the auction scenarios were evaluated with either three or four operators, depending on the pace of the Telenor-PTCL merger. In light of the completion of technical preparations, policy indecision seems to be causing the primary roadblock.
The government’s initial timeline had targeted a commercial 5G launch by June 2025, which now, given the circumstances, appears very unlikely, as June has come around the corner without any action from the advisory committee.
Telenor and PTCL have also gone hard on the CCP for delays, underscoring that the merger, submitted in February 2024, remains in Phase II scrutiny. with the latter also proposing a $1 billion investment and sought support from the Special Investment Facilitation Council to speed up the approval.
