ISLAMABAD ( BMZ REPORT ) The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed that the process of auctioning 3G, 4G spectrum licences should be uninterrupted.
A three member judge bench headed by Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja resumed the hearing of a petition filed by Khurram Shehzad Chughtai, an IT expert, who had sought a court order for the government to complete the process of auctioning 3G spectrum licences on an urgent basis in a transparent manner and ensure early availability of the services.
The court reiterated that Pakistan 3G and 4G auction will take place on April 23 and ordered that the revenue generated from the auction will be held in the federal consolidated fund until it is decided whose accounts it will be transferred to.
During the course of proceeding, Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) chairman, Ismail Shah apprised the court that four cellular companies had expressed interest in the auction and submitted a 15 per cent bid bond which has been deposited in the PTA account.
Dr Ismail Shah expressed hope that the auction more than Rs1.3 billion revenue would be generated though the auction.
The Attorney General Sulman Aslam Butt informed the court that as per article 70‑A of the constitution revenue generated through such bidding process belongs to the Federation and must be deposited in the federal consolidated fund.
Later the bench adjourned further proceeding of the case till third week of May while directing to the government to speed up the process of bidding.