BANGLADESH Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) earns around Tk106.45 billion by auctioning 190MHz 5G spectrums. However, 30 MHz, out of total 220 MHz on sale, remained unsold at the auction. This happens to be the highest-ever amount BTRC has earned from spectrum sales following last year’s Tk 76.34 billion received by assigning a total of 27.4MHz spectrum from 1800MHz and 2100MHz bands.
Grameenphone (GP) and Robi acquired the highest 60MHz spectrum each from 2.6GHz bands for about Tk 33.60 billion at the auction held on Thursday in a city hotel. State-owned telecom operator Teletalk obtained 30MHz from 2.3GHz bands for about Tk 16.80 billion. However, the government earlier had allocated 60 MHz from 3.5 GHz bands to the operator to launch 5G services on a pilot basis last year. Banglalink booked 40MHz from 2.3GMHz bands at the auction.
Operators have to pay 10 per cent of the total purchase price within 60 days of the announcement of the final auction results, while the remaining 90 per cent will be paid off in equal instilments over nine years. It is anticipated that the operators would be able to improve their network and the quality of service using the new spectrum. BTRC instructed all telecoms operators to begin test runs for the 5G spectrum within six months of the auction.
Grameenphone firmly commits to giving customers the best possible experience by acquiring the maximum allowable 60 MHz of the spectrum at the auction. Banglalink remains the top private operator in the country in terms of spectrum per customer, following the acquisition of 40 MHz spectrum at the spectrum auction. The newly acquired 40 MHz spectrum from the 2300 MHz band increases Banglalink’s spectrum holding by 100 per cent. Banglalink’s total spectrum holding now stands at 80 MHz.
The country’s mobile communication service over the years developed significantly, however, the 5G era will hopefully open up new opportunities for the users. We call the mobile phone operators to be accountable to the users and ensure basic communications in the hard-to-reach areas.
