Asian telecom regulator, mobile spectrum auction
Situation
The Telecom Regulator of Pakistan required help managing a 3G/4G mobile spectrum auction. The context was extremely sensitive. Several past attempts had failed, and Pakistan was the last large country to launch 3G and had fallen behind its neighbours. The media and civil society scrutinised every step of the process, and the government was concerned with security issues. Whilst other countries which generated large revenues from their auctions had failed to hit the anticipated levels of adoption of next-generation mobile services, the Government had set a challenging revenue target.
Approach
In order to address these challenges, we closely worked in-site with the regulator, created a strong plan, yet remained flexible to the changing requirements of the Government of Pakistan. We also conducted an extensive stakeholder engagement program, including several rounds of consultation with mobile operators, and senior members of the mobile industry.
Working closely the Government and all the mobile industry stakeholders, we managed the Next Generation Mobile Services Auction throughout its entire lifecycle (including market review, international auction benchmark, spectrum strategy and valuation, and auction design, software and delivery). We managed a team of 4 consultants and 6 contractors and discussed the financial target and auction strategy with the Telecom Minister and Finance Minister of Pakistan.
Experts in spectrum, licensing, and auction designed an Information Memorandum and licence terms that encouraged participation and competitive bidding, and a transparent auction following best practice international standards (SMRA: Simultaneously Managed Round Auctions).
Results
We completed the project within a challenging timeframe of 4 months, from inception to completion, shorter than the usual one-year timeframe for a project of this nature.
The auction generated over $1.1 billion in revenues and received good press coverage and review. Thus we assisted in laying the foundation for increased wireless connectivity and broadband access, which will foster the economy and society of Pakistan (GDP growth, job creation, tax revenues, m-payment, m-health, m-agriculture).