Mobile operators in the country have been pushing strongly against the multi-billion taka spectrum allocation process for Ollo for only Tk2.46bn.
Telecommunications Minister Sahara Khatun approved a WiMax license with LTE to the brand Ollo on Monday evening and sent the approval to Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (BTRC) on Tuesday.
The Dhaka Tribune came to learn that top representatives of the operators met the telecom minister on Thursday to urge for a revision of the decision.
Shahara reportedly told the representatives that she had, in fact, no idea about Ollo or Bangladesh Internet Exchange Limited’s licence or spectrum allocation process or the earlier situation.
“I have done what the ministry officials suggested to me,” Sahara Khatun told the telecom top bosses in reply to their requests.
A senior executive of a telecom company requesting anonymity said: “The minister looked helpless when she was talking to us. She said she would talk about the issue with the secretary of the ministry.”
The representatives suggested to Sahara that an open auction for all operators could be arranged for the high valued spectrum of 2600 bands, and it would ensure that the government is not deprived of proper fees.
They also said the minister may be implicated in a corruption case like former Indian telecom minister A Raza as only she had signed the file on Ollo.
Contacted, the telecom minister admitted to the meeting between her and the operators but refused to share any of the details.
CEO of Grameenphone Vivek Sood, CEO of Banglalink Ziad Shatara, acting CEO of Robi Matiul Islam Nowshad, Secretary General of Association of Mobile Telecom Operators of Bangladesh (Amtob) TIM Nurul Kabir and other high officials from the companies were in the meeting.
The LTE (long-term evolution, a fourth generation telephone and mobile broadband communication standard) will enable Ollo to handle both voice and data services, making it the most influential operator in the country, although it is spending much less than other operators.
Ollo is a co-brand of BIEL and the New Generation Graphics Limited (NGGL) – both now owned by the Russian company Multinet, had applied for the WiMax licence in April this year. The NGGL had already got 20MHz spectrum free of cost on 800 bands in 2011, which should cost more than Tk30bn.
Experts in the industry said the 20MHz spectrum Ollo had gotten should have cost at least Tk34.29bn, if compared to prices at the latest auction by BTRC on September 8.
Already BTRC has sent letters to BIEL to deposit their money and collect licence and spectrum allocation papers. However, the operator has been importing and setting up LTE equipment at different sites even before obtaining the licence.
The mobile operators’ organisation Amtob is going to hold a press conference about this issue to share their concerns.
Amtob sent a letter to the telecom secretary and the BTRC chairman on Sunday, saying: “Globally, the spectrum values for 2600MHz and 700MHz have been very encouraging for governments. If these bands are allocated without proper valuation and auction, it would result in significant value loss for the government which otherwise would have been possible [to prevent] through setting up a realistic base price and allowing mobile operators to participate.”
The letter signed by Chairman Michael Kuehner and Secretary General TIM Nurul Kabir said the government decision might disrupt the level-playing field in the industry.
Two WiMax operators also expressed their concerns about the new licence and may join the mobile operators in resisting the licencing and spectrum allocation process, sources in the industry said.
In 2008 BIEL participated in an auction for WiMax licencing but they came out fifth and pulled back when BTRC offered a licence. It even withdrew its earnest money deposited for the auction.
