Regulator prepares 4G guideline for govt nod
The telecom regulator has finalised its proposed licensing guideline for 4G services, which will be sent to the government shortly for final approval.
Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission has proposed 15 percent revenue sharing with the operators from fourth generation (4G) services.
Mobile operators are currently sharing 5.5 percent of their gross revenue from 2G and 3G services with BTRC, in addition to 1 percent as contribution to the social obligation fund.
“We have proposed Tk 15 crore as licence fees for 15 years and another Tk 7.5 crore as annual fees,” BTRC Chairman Shahjahan Mahmood told The Daily Star yesterday.
“After getting the approval, we will offer 4G licences to the existing operators, who will be able to launch 4G within a couple of months as they are already enjoying technological neutrality in the 2100 band,” said Mahmood.
The mobile operators already tested their network for 4G services in the 2100 band and got a reasonable 50 to 100 Mbps of speed for both uploads and downloads. At present, they are offering 3G services in this band, which they acquired in 2013 in an auction at a price of $21 million per MHz.
BTRC also proposed Tk 150 crore for bank performance guaranty, which has to be paid in two separate segments. Operators will have to pay Tk 75 crore for the rollout obligation and another Tk 75 crore to clear future dues, if any.
Under the rollout obligation, operators will have to extend 4G services in all the divisional headquarters within the first nine months of getting the licence; they are also bound to rollout these services in the district headquarters within 18 months, according to the guideline. They will get a total of three years to rollout 4G services across the country.
If operators comply with these obligations, they will be eligible to get a refund of Tk 25 crore in each segment, said an official involved in the guideline formation process.
The regulator recommends allowing the entry of one new player in the market; the entrant will have to purchase spectrum in the upcoming auction.
The commission also formed a committee on drafting the spectrum auction guideline and that will be completed soon, said the BTRC chairman.
BTRC has 15 MHz of unsold spectrum in the 2100 band, 10.6 MHz in the 1800 band and some spectrum in the 900 band that was released from Airtel after its merger with Robi.
Mobile operators use the 2100 band for 3G services and 900 and 1800 bands for 2G services. But after getting technology neutrality, they can use the latter two bands for 4G services, which will be cost effective.
For the auction, the government earlier approved $25 million for each MHz of spectrum, but now they are planning to add $7-$8 million per MHz for technology neutrality, said the BTRC chief.
For their existing spectrum, operators have to pay an additional $7-$8 million per MHz for technology neutrality as well, added Mahmood. “The rate is yet to be fixed.”
Technology neutrality allows the operators to offer any service in any band, which will reduce the operators' cost of doing business and improve service quality.
Earlier in February, Prime Minister's ICT Affairs Adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy directed BTRC to introduce 4G services in the country as soon as possible.
He also approved technology neutrality, which operators have been demanding for a long time.
Currently, 4G services are available in all the neighbouring countries, except Bangladesh. As of February there are around 6.67 crore mobile internet users in Bangladesh, 3 crore of whom use 3G services.