PTA income falls 62% amid years-long delay in 5G spectrum auction

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority’s (PTA) total income fell by more than 62% in three years, mainly due to the non-auction of 5G spectrum for several years, according to the Auditor General of Pakistan’s latest report.

The AGP report said PTA’s income declined from Rs94.1 billion in FY2022-23 to Rs35.3 billion in FY2024-25.

During the same period, the authority’s expenditure increased from Rs3.321 billion to Rs5 billion, driven by higher human resource costs, administrative expenses and legal charges.

The decline also reduced PTA’s contribution to the national exchequer. According to the audit, PTA’s overall revenues fell from Rs109.254 billion in 2022 to Rs34.556 billion in 2025, showing a decline of nearly 68%.

As a result, surplus funds deposited by PTA into the Federal Consolidated Fund (FCF) dropped from Rs102.542 billion in 2022 to Rs28.431 billion in 2025.

The report also warned that PTA’s revenue could fall further to around Rs4.637 billion if corrective measures are not taken.

The audit said the regulator’s financial position has been affected by delays in spectrum auctions, rising costs and growing legal and recovery challenges.

It also flagged uneven telecom sector growth in rural and remote areas, where service quality and broadband speeds remained lower than in urban centres.

The report said the expansion of the telecom sector has been largely quantitative rather than uniformly qualitative.

The AGP also raised concerns over pending court cases, saying recovery of outstanding dues has become dependent on judicial decisions.

It said non-recovery of Annual Regulatory Dues (ARDs) directly affects the federal exchequer.

The audit also pointed out governance and internal control weaknesses, including the preparation of PTA’s FY2024-25 financial statements under accounting policies that had not been formally approved by the federal government.

It further warned that human resource costs could consume 88.13% of forecast revenues by 2026 if current trends continue.

To address the decline, the AGP recommended timely spectrum auctions and alignment of regulatory decisions with long-term technological development. It also called for bringing data centres and emerging ICT infrastructure under a formal licensing and regulatory framework.

The report recommended prompt enforcement orders for recovery of outstanding regulatory dues, penalties for non-compliance through mandatory Quality of Service (QoS) surveys and criminal proceedings where organised telecom fraud is established.

The AGP also advised PTA to enforce internal financial discipline in employee pay and perks and obtain formal federal government approval for its accounting policies.