G-5 Technology in Pakistan

[ghazi52]

Successful 5G trial held in Peshawar in 'limited environment'


Sirajuddin
June 17, 2021

Officials of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Technology Board (KPITB) and the Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd (PTCL) sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to conduct 5G trials in Peshawar. — Photo courtesy KPITB Twitter

A successful 5G technology trial was held at the Durshal Incubation Centre in Peshawar on Thursday "in a limited environment on a non-commercial basis" as part of a collaboration between the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Technology Board (KPITB) and the Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd (PTCL), the PTCL said in a statement.

The KPITB and PTCL also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to conduct 5G trials in Peshawar.

"The demonstrations included successful remote surgery concept, cloud gaming and an overview of anticipated 5G technology applications in Pakistan. Once the infrastructure and systems are operational, surgeons will be able to perform surgeries remotely in the far-flung areas," the statement said.

Minister for Information Technology and Food Atif Khan, who was present at the trial, said KP was the "first province in the country where trial of 5G services had been started", the KPITB said in a separate statement.

Talking to reporters, Khan said the speed of 5G internet would be 10 times faster than 4G. Regarding its applications, he said that it could be used to operate artificial arms. "A doctor in Chitral can perform an operation in Peshawar. There are lots of benefits with respect to films and games as well."

The minister said that in the past, people progressed when a road was built in an area but now they would progress when 5G technology was available.

He said the negative perception surrounding 5G technology was "wrong", noting that there was no research that pointed to "negative issues" of 5G internet.

He added that the provincial government was increasing the budget of the IT department from Rs430 million to Rs12-14 billion. "The provincial government gives a lot of importance to science and information technology and several megaprojects of the IT sector have been included in the upcoming year's development budget which would not only result in easier [facilitation of] services to people but also end corruption."

Talking about initiatives the government would take, Khan said citizen facilitation centres would be built, the IT sector would be promoted, a 40-Kanal digital complex would be constructed in Peshawar along with an IT park in Abbottabad, a special technology zone in Mardan and an IT park in Swat.

He added that internet had been provided to 25 colleges in KP and efforts were being made to provide internet to other colleges and universities as well.

In February of this year, PTCL conducted tests of 5G technology at its headquarters in Islamabad to achieve download speeds reaching 1.685 gigabytes per second (GBPS).

Successful 5G trial held in Peshawar in 'limited environment'

KP IT minister says negative perception around 5G is "wrong", speed of 5G will be 10 times faster than 4G.

www.dawn.com

 

[ghazi52]

5G ecosystem, commercial launch: Ministry to finalise incentives by 2023

Tahir Amin
23 Dec 2021

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Finance will finalise incentives, which would be reflected in the Financial Bill 2022 to enable the 5G technological ecosystem and commercial launch by 2023.

The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication in a draft on the “5G Strategic Plan and Policy Guideline,” has rolled out its tentative plan for launching 5G technology in Pakistan.

The government has set a target to launch 5G commercially in the first quarter of 2023 in the country.

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) will complete various stages before commercial launch, including the issuance of a strategic plan, the hiring of the consultant for the auction process, finalisation of policy directives by 2022-end, and the finalisation of incentives in the upcoming finance bill.

The ministry updated its plans after feedback and consultation with the market players and various ministries and authorities in this regard. The spectrum assignment shall continue to be technology-neutral. The MoIT&T may review the Right of Way policy to facilitate telecom network deployment.

The MoIT&T shall finalise the Spectrum Re-farming Framework for IMT bands after recommendations/consultation from the PTA, the PEMRA, and the FAB. The process of spectrum refarming shall be realized through a policy directive and Spectrum Refarming Committee comprising MoIT, FAB, PTA/PEMRA, and incumbent users, in line with the Telecom Policy 2015.

All relevant stakeholders, including MoIT&T, MoF, PTA, and FAB, to work in parallel for conducting the spectrum auction in 2023, the draft stated.

For efficient utilization of the IMT spectrum and timely launch of commercial 5G ecosystem in Pakistan, improvement of mobile broadband services, phase-wise availability will be made for at least 840 MHz.

The utilization of IMT in low and mid-bands (including the currently licensed spectrum) will be made available by the end of 2024 or the first half of 2025 (i.e. after the expiry of WLL licenses by 2024) may be planned as per best practices.

In this regard, maximum possible spectrum bandwidth shall be made available in the following IMT spectrum bands which are already approved by the FAB for the re-farming subject to the process of re-farming as per Section 8.5 of the Telecom Policy 2015: (B28/n28) 700 MHz, (B40/n40) 2.3 GHz (B41/n41) 2.6 GHz – efforts to clear litigation to be expedited, (B42-43, B52/n78) 3.5 GHz – 3300 MHz – 3415MHz is available; 3415 – 3600 MHz be made available after completion of re-farming and expiry of WLL Licenses in 2024.

Available spectrum in (B3/n3) 1800 MHz and (B1/n1) 2100 MHz mmWave bands (n257, n258, and n261, etc) may be made available while its use shall be subject to market demand assessment.

Frequency Allocation Board (FAB) shall make the maximum possible interference-free bandwidth of the above spectrum. Efforts should be made for expeditious resolution of respective court cases by MoIT&T, PTA, FAB, and PEMRA. Attorney General Office and Ministry of Law & Justice shall provide all support for the vacation of these IMT bands for inclusion in Spectrum Auction planned in early 2023.

To enable the 5G technological ecosystem, the Ministry of Finance, in consultation with MoIT&T, PTA, FAB, and any other relevant stakeholders, will finalize incentives be reflected in the Financial Bill 2022 included:

Tax rebate, tax rationalization, and elimination of duty tariff on import of all components of high end 4G and 5G devices (smartphones, IoT devices, and CPEs) across all slabs to promote local manufacturing of high end 4G and 5G devices, including handsets and customer premises equipment (CPE), 2G handsets (CBU) import shall be banned.

Duty-free IMT/5G network-ready equipment imports to facilitate 5G readiness and mobile broadband to support wider mobile broadband and 5G networks deployment. Special incentives for global Telecom equipment vendors to establish assembly and production lines in Pakistan to promote local assembly of IMT/5G and IoT ecosystem devices including chipsets.

Licensee shall establish at least one 5G Innovation and test center/lab to scale up 5G ecosystem for startups and entrepreneurship activities at their own cost for citizens. The facility shall be free of charge for academia and research purposes at the government’s designated institute all over Pakistan within two years of the grant of license.


Extensive non-commercial 5G trials (mobile and fixed) shall be supported. Trials may include the establishment of 5G hotspots in academic institutions, incubation centers, research organizations, etc. Existing training programs within MoIT&T/Ignite should incorporate digital skills that support the 5G use-case discovery process.

The MoIT&T and the PTA shall lead 5G awareness and orientation campaigns for other ministries and departments (including Science and Technology, Education, Health, Agriculture, etc) to enable them to develop coordinated policies and use cases relevant to mobile broadband and 5G. The MoIT&T and the PTA, along with the Ministry of Health, Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency, and other stakeholders, should engage in a public education campaign in relation to 5G, reassuring the public about the safety of the technology.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021

 

[Hakikat ve Hikmet]

Pak IT and telecom firms should take the full advantage of 5G deployment! It's a great opportunity to be on the forefront of the solutions development....

 

[ghazi52]

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5G launch: 8 to 10 months would be required after govt policy directive​

Tahir Amin

ISLAMABAD: The government would require approximately eight to 10 months after issuance of the policy directive to complete the process of the 5G launch in the country.

The timely rollout of 5G mobile phone connectivity is, however, contingent on political stability in the country, which has already wasted several months and may delay the launch of services.

Official documents of the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoITT) reveal that it published draft policy guidelines for 5G on 15 December 2021 on its website. Based on the same, all stakeholders were consulted by the MoITT and the Pakistan Telecommuni-cation Authority (PTA) for market readiness in relation to 5G adoption in the country.

Approximately eight to 10 months would be required after the issuance of the Policy Directive by the government of Pakistan to complete the process of the 5G launch in the country.

The previous government had planned to auction the 5G spectrum latest by end of March 2023 in the country with the initial launch in big cities.

However, due to political instability in the country, around four months were wasted which has impacted the initial plan, sources added.

Top officials at the PTA said that the question of the timeline for the 5G auction should be directed towards the ministry.

The official further stated, “If it is a priority item for the government and the telecom industry, then the Authority can do the spectrum auction before the election.”

Jazz Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Aamir Ibrahim has stated on record that it would be hard for 5G to make any business case in the next two years because less than one percent of consumers afford such handsets in the country. He further said that people think that better internet would be provided once the 5G is launched in the country, but it could be provided with 4G even now by government interventions for greater propagation.

The government has revealed that 4G coverage is considered a pre-requisite for 5G launch and 5G services can be deployed in the area where 4G services have already been provided.

He further said that first, the focus should be the 15 percent population currently having no telecom services.

As per documents, the MoITT is currently in the process of finalising policy guidelines for 5G in consultation with the PTA/Frequency Allocation Board (FAB) and other stakeholders.

However, no consulting services have been procured so far for the said purpose.
The documents further reveal that the ministry is presently in a process of assessing the options available for the timely launch of 5G services in Pakistan.

In this connection, the following bands are being evaluated for the adoption of 5G services as low bands, mid bands, and high bands: (a) 700 MHz; (b) 2.3 GHz; (c) 2.6 GHz; (d) 3.5 GHz; (e) Millimeter wave bands; (f) C-Band (3.6-4.2) GHz and (g) Unlicensed Backhaul Frequency bands (P2P & P2MP).

The ministry in view of these bands has requested the FAB for sharing the current status and availability of all 5G spectrums in the above-identified frequency bands.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022

 

[ghazi52]

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The 5G launch in Pakistan keeps on getting delayed. At first, it was expected to be deployed around December this year but was soon delayed to early 2023. After March 2023, it was delayed to June, but now we should expect it in July 2023, says IT and Telecommunications Minister Syed Amin ul Haq.

While announcing the new date, the IT Minister vowed that the initiative would help boost the IT industry as well as exports at an impressive rate.

He made the announcement during a ceremony at the UBIT Career Fest 2022, organized by the Department of Computer Science of the University of Karachi. He added that he is confident the new deadline would be met without any further delay..

 

[ghazi52]

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Pakistan’s ‘digital emergency’​

November 23, 2022

EDITORIAL: IT Minister Aminul Haque would have noticed, when he met telecom industry executives divided over the launch of 5G network services, that their most consistent complaint was inconsistency in government policies for the sector.

Now, while China Mobile-owned Zong is willing to “fully cooperate” with the ministry for the 5G rollout next year, Jazz, Telenor and Ufone are wondering how they will do it when the industry’s “very survival is at stake”.

The whole sector, which is supposed to be the backbone of the modern digital economy, is suffering because of a severe cost-push financial squeeze and an administration unable to figure out its policy direction.


That’s why it’s demanding urgent policy interventions, including denominating spectrum payments in rupees instead of dollars and extending its payment terms to 10 years from five, suspension of annual payments to Universal Service Fund (USF) and Ignite for two years, and reduction of withholding tax on essential telecom services to eight percent from 15pc.

But since the minister was already aware of these demands, and all he said in his meetings to address them was that the government was doing all it could, he didn’t exactly inspire the kind of confidence that was needed to get the ball rolling on the 5G front.

There’s much talk at the top level about growing the IT industry into a leading export earner. Yet even though the minister admitted that “improvement in connectivity was linked to the telecom sector, and I am convinced that the economic stability of the country was linked with a strong and vibrant telecom industry,” there’s not much happening on ground in quantifiable terms to back this realisation. And the whole IT sector is waiting for the telecom sector to be able to meet Pakistan’s digital inclusion objectives.

Even if/when the government is able to put enough on the table for the telecom sector to play along, there will be a lot of issues to address before the whole thing can really take off. Recent floods badly damaged and degraded telecom infrastructure up and down the country.

Rising interest rates are therefore not only worsening the financial crunch and cutting crucial investment, they’re also making reconstruction a lot more expensive. And then there’s increasing electricity prices and the falling rupee to add to input costs. That’s a lot to do, especially when you haven’t made up your mind how you’ll do it and the clock is ticking.

IT is one of the most important ministries in most countries in this day and age. We need only see across the border in India to understand how prudent planning and provisioning can indeed turn it into an export powerhouse. In addition to powering the economy, it also forces an improvement in the quality of education to feed a rapidly growing industry. Here, priorities are different and the IT ministry was doled out to a disgruntled ally to prevent undue embarrassment so soon after the no-confidence motion brought the present coalition government to power.

Industry executives also enlightened the IT minister that frequent changes in government policy were making it difficult for them to convince their investors to continue investing here. There are, in fact, rumours that one of the three companies that expressed their reservations to the minister might be considering wrapping up from Pakistan altogether.

Given these circumstances, it would have been much better to have a more IT-oriented man heading the ministry. Yet effective policy can still be framed by taking all relevant stakeholders on board at the right time and devoting enough resources to overcome immediate hurdles.

Managing this “digital emergency”, as one industry executive put it in the meeting with the minister, is the least the government is expected to do. At stake is not just the fate of a few countries or the 5G network or even the whole sector, but Pakistan’s chance of being able to function as a proper digital economy in the 21st century.

 

[ghazi52]

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Pakistan placed among emerging markets that will benefit from 5G rollout: study​

• Report says country can enhance GDP growth by up to 0.46% through 2035

Bilal Hussain
December 9, 2022

An Ericsson-commissioned study by management consultancy Analysys Mason has highlighted the potential economic, consumer and environmental benefits of 5G connectivity in 15 national emerging markets including Pakistan.

With regulatory and government support, all 15 countries could benefit from GDP growth between 0.3% and 0.46% through 2035, with an estimated three-to-seven-fold cost-to-benefit ratio, according to the study titled 'Future Value of Mobile in Emerging Markets'.

Apart from Pakistan, the countries included in the research report are Bangladesh, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Thailand and Turkey.

Pakistan is already pushing for quick rollout of 5G technology in the country.

In August, Federal Minister for IT and Telecom Syed Aminul Haque said the technology would be launched before elections next year.

Meanwhile, the study examines the impact of multiple 5G spectrum deployment options to facilitate enhanced mobile broadband and fixed wireless access (FWA) across consumer, industry, logistics, rural and public services clusters, and spanning several business case options, including verticals.

“This Analysys Mason Future Value of Mobile in Emerging Markets report provides a detailed breakdown, based on comprehensive research into realistic and achievable scenarios in each of the 15 countries, of the potential economic, social, environmental and national benefits of 5G in these markets,” Andrew Lloyd, Head of Government and Policy Advocacy, Ericsson, was quoted as saying in a press release.

“With the backing of governments, regulators and policy makers, each of these 15 countries, and their citizens, stand to benefit significantly from 5G connectivity. In addition to economic benefits, 5G can also reduce climate impact, increase social inclusion, wellbeing and tackle the digital divide in areas where fixed infrastructure availability is poor.”

The detailed methodology of the study included utilising national government statistics and reports, Ericsson network insights and innovative mapping techniques – based on population density distribution and existing national infrastructure such as, road and rail networks, and agriculture – to create a cost-to-benefit model across the different deployment options.

Deployment options are based on the starting assumption of having 5G baseline rollout added to existing mobile radio network sites. Additional options explore the extra benefits of adding Low-Band 5G spectrum coverage beyond the baseline (delivering wider geographical coverage at the lower end of 5G capabilities and suited to agriculture or logistics deployments) or Mid-Band 5G spectrum coverage - delivering smaller geographical coverage per site, but with higher capacity and speed, suitable for manufacturing, automation, industry and advanced services.

Expanded Mid-Band 5G coverage is identified as the key success factor - with the potential to deliver about 80 percent of the economic benefits. Benefits from the Smart Industry and Smart Rural clusters account for 85-90% of the total economic benefits in each emerging market.

Agriculture is a significant sector in all 15 countries - accounting for up to 10% of GDP in some markets. The report estimates that enhanced rural 5G coverage could deliver up to 1.8% uplift in long-term GDP from agriculture, the report said.

5G will also promote sustainable farming methods, increase efficiency and reduce agricultural waste.

“The study highlights the benefits from having the right spectrum available for 5G deployment, both for geographic coverage, for which the low-bands are very suitable, and in the 3.5GHz band where most of the high-capacity 5G deployments in other markets are already taking place,” Janette Stewart, Partner, Analysys Mason said.

Study findings include:

• Baseline 5G deployment cost is estimated between USD 3-8 billion per country. An additional 20-35 percent investment is required to extend coverage
• Extending coverage beyond the baseline can generate significant GDP benefits from industrial adoption, especially from mid-band coverage extension
• Most countries are expected to generate overall economic benefits (GDP) three-to-seven times higher than the incremental cost of extending coverage
• Results suggest 5G mobile broadband can generate consumer surplus between USD 1-10 billion per country, with coverage extension giving 20-30 percent extra consumer surplus
• The social benefits enabled by 5G will be greatest from 5G-based FWA, smart factories, freight and logistics, agriculture and healthcare use cases
• Adopting 5G can help reduce emissions by supporting digital transformation in agriculture, freight and logistics, smart factories and construction

The study highlights how governments, regulators and policy makers can support the 5G ecosystem to deliver the benefits.

These include treating 5G as a national infrastructure with a 5G national strategy and roadmap, implementing 5G spectrum policies that facilitate speedier and widespread deployment, including trading off spectrum fees for deployment targets that meet connectivity policy objectives, implementing policies and procedures to make infrastructure deployment and site upgrades easier.

Moreover, working with communications services providers to enhance coverage in areas where commercially-led solutions are not viable, incentivizing the use and prominence of 5G in industry and manufacturing, promoting 5G in the public sector and promoting the environmental benefits of 5G solutions can also benefit 5G segment in the 15 countries.

 

[ghazi52]

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Mohsin Mushtaq, Federal Secretary for Information Technology and Telecom (MoITT) performed the groundbreaking of Pakistan’s first 5G Innovation Lab at NUST powered by the country’s leading digital operator Jazz in collaboration with Huawei. He was accompanied by Shiza Fatima, PM’s Special Assistant on Youth Affairs; Muhammad Naveed, Member Finance PTA; Kaan Terzioğlu, VEON Group CEO; Augie K Fabela, Co-Founder Veon; Aamir Ibrahim, CEO, Jazz along with other key ICT industry stakeholders.

By leveraging its high bandwidth, low latency, and advanced security, the 5G Innovation Lab will help researchers to work on potential use cases for 5G in the fields of Artificial Intelligence, Augmented/Virtual Reality and hi, healthcare, Industry 4.0, agriculture, security, disaster management, entertainment, and the public sector.

Congratulating Jazz, Mr. Mohsin Mushtaq, MoITT Secretary said, “This lab will play a pivotal role in helping us build an ecosystem to explore 5G-enabled use cases in Agritech, EdTech etc. while serving as a conduit for the interplay of technologies like Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning, Internet of Things, and Cybersecurity.

Kaan Terzioğlu, VEON Group CEO said, “While our priority is to provide 4G for all, we must also look at the future of communications where 5G will have an important role to play. Jazz is making a major commitment towards innovation in the country and exploring the potential of 5G to help transform business and society. We set out to empower our customers while enhancing the prosperity of the countries we operate in, and Jazz’s 5G innovation lab aims to deliver both in Pakistan.”

Addressing the ground-breaking ceremony, CEO Jazz Aamir Ibrahim said that back in 2020 Jazz took the lead initiative in 5G tests and trials in a limited environment and today we are taking it a step ahead by developing Pakistan’s first 5G innovation lab in collaboration with NUST. This partnership will help researchers, entrepreneurs, and the academic world, to better understand the opportunities, value and usefulness of 5G spearheading the implementation of use cases for co-innovation ecosystem development.

 

[fisher1]

What a joke

They can’t even provide full signals for calls and sms, 4g is more like dialup and they dream of 5g. Jazz is particularly a crap company.

It’s like trying to fly before you can walk.

 

[ghazi52]

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Pakistan gov't starts process to launch 5G spectrum​

Xinhua
Oct 26, 2023

ISLAMABAD -- The Pakistani government has begun the process of launching 5G spectrum to boost the South Asian country's telecommunications sector, local media reported on Thursday.

Caretaker Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Umar Saif was quoted as saying that the federal cabinet had approved the formation of a committee to auction the 5G spectrum.

The minister said that the committee would play a pivotal role in introducing new-generation technology in the country.

The committee will review the availability of spectrum in various frequency bands, including 700 MHz, 1,800 MHz, 2,100 MHz, and 2,600 MHz, said the minister, adding that the total spectrum allocated to the four telecom companies was inadequate to meet the requirements of consumers.

The minister said Pakistan is the 7th largest mobile phone market with 194 million consumers and the government has formed a plan to encourage local manufacturing of affordable and high-quality mobile phones.

The federal cabinet also approved the Telecom Infrastructure Sharing Framework, which will allow telecom companies to utilize resources jointly such as towers, antennas, cable ducts and other critical infrastructure.

The minister said the new mechanism would streamline the use of resources and reduce operating costs, opening the door for new companies to enter the telecom field in Pakistan.

 

[ghazi52]

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