Pakistan’s Jazz secures 4G license

Pakistani mobile operator Jazz has formally secured its 4G license after submitting the sole bid for a 10 MHz block of 1800-MHz spectrum in May.

The license was officially awarded to the company during a ceremony on Friday.

Jazz has become Pakisan’s third operator to be granted a 4G license, after China Mobile’s Zong and Warid Telecom.

Jazz submitted the minimum bid of $295 million for the block of spectrum just before the auction deadline. The company chose to pay the whole price upfront rather than taking the option of paying in six instalments with interest applied.

While Ufone had been expected to participate in the auction as the only remaining operator without the capacity to launch 4G services, the company declined to take part citing the high cost of 4G services and handsets in the market that it claims are out of reach for the average Pakistani consumer.

Zong also sat out of the auction after stating that the operator will not does not require additional bandwidth in the near future.