5G guideline issued after delays

Nearly two years after the 5G spectrum auction, the telecom regulator issued a licensing guideline that would allow the carriers to roll out the technology within a year.

From the second year onwards, the licensee must have the capability to provide the full list of services, including mission-critical services like smart cities, smart homes, intelligent transportation systems, smart grids, or any other useful new applications, according to the guideline.

The unified guideline titled "Regulatory and Licensing Guidelines for Cellular Mobile Services in Bangladesh" also provides regulatory framework for existing technologies such as 2G, 3G, and 4G.

Earlier in March 2022, the country's four mobile phone operators bought 190 megahertz (MHz) of spectrum for $1.23 billion to roll out 5G wireless communication.

Market leader Grameenphone buying 60 MHz in the 2600 band for Tk 3,361 crore. The same was done by Robi, the second largest operator. Banglalink took 40 MHz in the 2300 band for Tk 2,241 crore while state-run Teletalk procured 30 MHz in the same band for Tk 1,681 crore.

At the auction, the regulator said the operators have to launch 5G services within six months. But the guideline for 5G itself took around 2 years for the regulator.

At the same time, officials of the operators said rolling out 5G is not financially viable for them due to high infrastructure costs, consumer affordability concerns, uncertain returns on investment and failure to realise the full potential of 4G amid high taxation.

However, the operators have successfully completed the trial run of the technology, whose rollout was part of the ruling party's 2018 election manifesto.

Even today, less than 50 percent of the subscribers in Bangladesh use 4G, said Taimur Rahman, chief corporate and regulatory affairs officer of Banglalink.

"We believe the priority now is to ensure 4G is available and used by most people. This is very important to reduce the digital divide and ensure the success of the vision of smart Bangladesh."

The 5G technology is yet to be commercially successful in many countries.

"In Bangladesh, it may be used sporadically for specific requirements such as in industries and B2B needs for which we too will try to get the technology ready," he said.

Moreover, it has been witnessed that odd technologies tend to fade faster such as 1G and 3G.

"So let's see how this generation succeeds," Rahman added.

At the end of 2022, there were more than a billion 5G connections, according to GSMA Intelligence. By 2025, the number is expected to hit 2 billion. In neighbouring India, where the service was rolled out in October 2022, there were upwards of 100 million 5G users.

Robi has successfully conducted 5G trial runs and is ready to roll out the service any time, said Shahed Alam, its chief corporate and regulatory officer.

"However, we have to keep in mind the readiness of the 5G ecosystem as the technology is more focused towards B2B rather than individual customers," he added.