The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoITT) has finalized the draft of the first-ever Telecom Airwaves Spectrum Refarming Framework (TASRF).
“Telecommunication is glad to finalize the framework on spectrum refarming which is first of its kind prepared with recommendations from Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), Frequency Allocation Board (FAB) and industry stakeholders after multiple consultations,” said a news release.
Federal Minister for IT & Telecommunication Syed Amin UI Haque said the draft has been uploaded to the MoITT website for open consultation before approval of the Federal Cabinet.
He said frequency or airwaves spectrum refarming is a process governing the repurposing of frequency bands that have historically been allocated for legacy cellular services for new generation of mobile technologies, including emerging technologies, Internet of Things & 5th Generation Technology for on ground inclusion of 4th Industrial Revolution.
Amin said that in view of the increasing demand for cellular and radio communication services worldwide, emerging technologies, Spectrum refarming is considered a powerful and innovative approach to manage the spectrum dynamically so as to make it available for newer commercial applications 5G, Internet of Things, broadband wireless access and digital broadcasting.
The framework shall enable the effective utilisation of the available frequency spectrum for front-end and backhaul frequencies, increase potential business viability for licensees, better quality and coverage of mobile broadband services and emerging technologies including additional revenues for the national exchequer.
Based on international developments, including but not limited to, technological trends, the vendor reports, Telecom operators’ feedback, R&D landscape, survey reports and most importantly the recommendations from ITU, IEEE, ETSI, 3GPP, 3GPP2, GSMA and other standard framing bodies, PTA/PEMRA and FAB will recommend to MOIT&T the requirement to refarm any given frequency band for efficient utilization.—APP
