Auction for mobile number portability suspended

The telecom regulator has suspended its much-awaited auction for mobile number portability licence scheduled for September 28, as some procedural tasks have still remained unfinished.

Mobile number portability (MNP) enables customers to switch their operator anytime without changing the existing number.

The initial date for the auction was September 21, which was later postponed. In a notice published yesterday on its website, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission said it has decided to suspend all the proceedings of the auction.

Some work related to the auction is still incomplete, which prompted the regulator to suspend the process, said Md Sarwar Alam, spokesman for BTRC.

He said the commission will fix a new date for the auction soon.

On September 7, the regulator declared the names of five joint venture companies, which can take part in the auction.

Later, the BTRC sent the names of the companies to a law-enforcement agency to get security clearance, said a senior official of the regulator requesting anonymity.

As the investigation on the joint ventures has yet to be completed, the BTRC has decided to give the agency more time, the official said.