A meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee was held under thechairmanship of Finance Advisor Abdul Hafeez Sheikh. It approved thesetting up of an advisory committee for the next-generation mobile servicesspectrum, comprising ministers for IT, industry and manufacturing,planning, and trade, headed by a financial adviser.

According to the statement, the committee will review issues related to 5Gservices and make recommendations to the Pakistan Telecom Authority (PTA),while the ECC has also approved amendments to the decision for the newPakistan Housing Authority.

The meeting also approved the Terms of Reference of the committee (ToRs)including examining and evaluating the market assessment report andrecommendations of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) forrelease of maximum NGMS spectrum in Pakistan.

It will also examine and finalise the policy directives for the federalgovernment for the release of NGMS spectrum in Pakistan. The committee willoversee the release process to be conducted by PTA.

Pakistan’s telecom market had long struggled with the transition from aregulated state-owned monopoly to a deregulated competitive structure. Thetransition, and the development of the telecom sector generally, has beengreatly aided by foreign investment.

Despite the government’s promotion of internet services and the expansionof access nationally over the past decade, fixed broadband penetrationremains low at barely 1%. The fixed-line telephony market, dominated byPakistan Telecommunications, is similarly underdeveloped, and the number offixed lines is slowly declining as the mobile segment continues to expand.