Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has suspended the 5G trials of two mobile operators for violating the rules and misleading advertisement campaign.
Chairman PTA Major Gen (Retd) Amir Azeem Bajwa while briefing the National Assembly Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunication said that the 5G trials of Zong and Jazz have been suspended. Both the operators have violated rules and launched misleading campaigns.
The committee met with Ali Khan Jadoon in the chair here on Wednesday.
According to rules, before launching an advertisement campaign, both operators were required to vet it from PTA, said Bajwa, adding that Zong and Jazz violated the rules and launched misleading advertisements, giving the impression that 5G services were launched in the country.
He further said that soon after the advertisement, PTA was flooded with inquiries about the launch of 5G services.
PTA took action and suspended the 5G trials of both operators and they will remain suspended till the misleading campaigns are rectified, Chairman PTA added.
When asked about the development, Zong’s spokesperson said:
Zong 4G is a law-abiding entity and has always ensured complete adherence to all rules and regulations set by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority. Our regulatory teams are working closely with PTA to address all concerns.
PTA had granted six months permission to Jazz and Zong mobile operators for conducting test and trial of 5G technology under limited environment and non-commercial basis.“This is not cancellation, but suspension of 5G trials; we are hoping the issue will be resolved after some deliberation”, Telco Official
According to PTA, in line with the policy directive of the government of Pakistan, PTA has issued “Framework for Test and Development of Future Technologies (Particularly Fifth Generation (5G) Wireless Networks in Pakistan)” for facilitating testing/trial only of 5G technology and related services in Pakistan.
As a follow up of the above-mentioned policy directions, PTA has granted six months’ permission to PMCL (Jazz) and CMPak (Zong) to conduct tests and trials of 5G Technology under a limited environment. The permission is limited to testing purposes only on a non-commercial basis.
The commercial launch of 5th Generation services in Pakistan would be done in due course following a process involving policy directions by Government of Pakistan and necessary regulatory approvals.