The parent companies of the four leading mobile operators of Bangladesh have expressed their inability to participate in the upcoming spectrum auction as some of the outstanding issues are still to be resolved.
They sent a joint letter to Finance Minister AMA Muhith on March 1 saying they are interested to acquire more spectrum for better services, but investors are not.
The letter was signed by the top bosses and chief executive officers of the parent companies. Copies were sent to the Prime Minister’s Office, the state minister for ICT division, chairman of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), the telecommunication secretary and some other high officials.
Axiata Group Berhad’s President and Group CEO Dato Sir Jamaluddin Ibrahim, Telenor’s President and Group CEO Jon Fedrik Baksaas, VimpelCom Limited’s CEO Jo Launder and Bharti Airtel Limited’s Chairman Sunil Mittal signed the letter.
Robi, Grameenphone, Banglalink and Airtel are the four sister concerns in Bangladesh of these four global companies respectively.
The outstanding issues include SIM replacement tax, VAT on spectrum fee, introduction of technology neutrality in all bands, spectrum roadmap, and updated national telecom policy.
A number of senior executives from the Bangladeshi operators have confirmed the sending of the letter. The Dhaka Tribune has also obtain a copy of the letter.
The letter says that the government was supposed to resolve the disputes after the 2013 3G auction. The CEOs said they are still to see these outstanding issues resolved.
In January, the Bangladeshi mobile operators sent a similar letter to the government through the Association of Mobile Telecom Operators of Bangladesh (Amtob).
The government plans to hold the auction on April 30 for the 1,800 MHz and 2,100 MHz bands and has already finalised guidelines.
The floor prices have been proposed at $30m and $22m per MHz respectively. March 29 has been fixed as the last date for filling applications.
According to the guideline, operators who provide voice services and have less than 20 MHz spectrum in the GSM bands – 900 MHz and 1,800 MHz – will be eligible to participate in the auction.
Market leader Grameenphone is the only operator that has more than 20 MHz spectrum in those bands.