Pakistan Achieves a Breakthrough as a $507m Auction for 5G Spectrum Has Been Sold to Telecom Operators: Jazz, Ufone and Zong.
Pakistan concluded its $507m Auction for 5g Spectrum on the 10th of March 2026 as Jazz, Ufone and Zong were sold the 5G service. 480MHz of spectrum was sold across several bands. These include the 700, 2300, and 3500MHz bands. From these 480MHz, Jazz acquired 190MHz, Ufone acquired 180MHz and Zong acquired 110MHz.
According to The Express Tribune, the last spectrum auction was largely a failure due to strict government regulations that were not acceptable by the three telecom operators. However, despite the economic instability, government relaxation on regulations has allowed this auction to become successful as telecom operators were open to investment in local 5G in Pakistan.
Initially the government targeted 597MHz of spectrum but concluded its $507m auction at 480MHz. Although the news regarding 5G rollout is great, the shortfall of 117MHz directly translates to lower overall network capacity. Capacity constraints in city-wide planning would mean that less than optimal network speeds will be available; a similar situation to the 4G network.
