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Bidding for auction of PEMRA 's three DTH licenses continues

Published November 23, 2016 Updated November 23, 2016 08:54pm

ISLAMABAD: After getting conditional permission from the Supreme Court, Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) on Wednesday started auction process of first three licenses for the direct- to-home (DTH) service.

The bidding started from Rs 200 million and at mid night crossed the figure of Rs 4 billion and still higher offers were coming.

Out of twelve short listed companies, eleven participated in the bidding process while Mastro Commissions failed to appear for the bidding.

The companies participating in the auction include Mag Entertainment Lahore, Sardar Builders, Islamabad, Smartimes Islamabad, Smart Sky Islamabad,Orient Electronics,Lahore,IQ Communion, Karachi, Shahzad Sky,Islamabad, Skyflix,Islamabad, HB DTH,Islamabad, Naya Tel,Islamabad and Parus Media and Broadcast,Islamabad.

The start of bidding process scheduled to start at 11.00 am was delayed for one hour as the PEMRA Chairman along with his legal team had gone to the Supreme Court to get permission for the auction as LHC bench had given stay against the auction of DTH licenses on Tuesday.

Speaking on the occasion PEMRA chairman Absar Alam said that it was a historic day as Pakistan had finally joined the club of the nations having their own DTH service.

He said the DTH would prove to be a game changer in the cable and media industry of the country.

Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2016