Recently, Zong sent up a legal notice to PTA and Frequency Allocation Board (FAB) for putting up a defective spectrum for auction. The notice was regarding 3G spectrum allocated to Zong that lies under 1800 MHz category. The telco was awarded frequency spectrum band of 1920-1930 and 2110-2120 MHz for 3G network. This same spectrum is also used by cordless DECT 6.0 phones. PTA promised to remove all these phones from the market but well, this did not happen!
In the legal notice, Zong demanded for a 5 MHz substitute spectrum, refund of its spectrum payment and $40 million against damages. Now, both parties have reached on an agreement as confirmed by ProPakistani. Zong has withdrawn from its refund and compensation claims. The telco will get new 3G spectrum by end of current month. A PTA spokesperson said regarding the matter,
There wouldn’t be any cost involved in changing of spectrum.
Chairman PTA Dr. Ismail Shah was well aware of the matter. He agreed with Zong regarding the noise and distorted created by DECT 6.0 phones in the spectrum. One the matter was about to go legal, PTA acted upon and agreed to solve the issue of Pakistan’s only 3G and 4G telco.
It is yet to be known about which new 3G spectrum will be allotted to Zong. The customers don’t need to worry that they will not be required to do anything. Along with that, PTA has kept its intentions to remove all DECT 6.0 phones as soon as possible. The authority plans to present the same band for auction in future.
So Zong users, you can expect better 3G speeds soon. What are your thoughts on this story, guys?