bdnews24.com :The telecom regulator has deferred the auction of unused 2G and 3G spectrum at the call of the mobile-phone operators.Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) pushed the Apr 30 auction to May 20.A letter communicating the decision was sent to the operators on Sunday.Grameenphone, Robi, Bangalink and Airtel asked for the deferment on Wednesday.According to the new schedule, the operators will have to submit applications for unused spectrum on Apr 16.A list of eligible applicants will be published on Apr 21 and the consultations on the auction process will be held on Apr 26The BTRC set May 12 as the deadline to submit earnest money for bidding. The last date to take back application is May 14.The final auction will be held after a mock auction on Apr 19.The names of the winners will be announced on the same day the auction takes place.The BTRC recently made a guideline to sell 10.6 megahertz of unused 2G spectrum and 15 megahertz of 3G spectrum to the mobile operators.According to the guideline, the base price for 1,800 megahertz is $30 million (nearly Tk 2.32 billion as per the current price of US dollar).The base price of 2,100 megahertz has been fixed at $22 million (around Tk 1.7 billion).The mobile operators on Mar 1 sent a letter to the finance ministry saying that they would not take part in the auction since their demands remained unmet.Their demands include withdrawal of VAT on sold spectrum, settlement of the case over tax on replacing SIM cards, revision of telecom law, freedom to use spectrum and revision of tariff structure.
