Five mobile phone operators have applied for the 4G licence, on the same day that the Supreme Court cleared the regulator to hold the auction.
Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) Chairman Dr Shahjahan Mahmood told a press briefing on Sunday evening that Teletalk, Grameenphone, Banglalink, Robi and Citycell had applied for the licence.
“We have formed two separate committees in this regard and the subsequent decisions will be taken upon the committee’s report.”
Also Read - 4G spectrum auction to proceed
“The auction will take place in three bands and the frequency of these bands will be 2100MHz, 1800MHz and 900MHz,” Dr Shahjahan added.
The auction will take place on February 13 and the licences will be issued to the mobile operators on the following day. The companies are supposed to start providing their customers with the 4G service from the late March.
Earlier on Sunday, the Supreme Court cleared the way for BTRC to hold the auction of 4G spectrum, staying a High Court directive that halted the auction.
A five-member bench of the Appellate Division lead by acting chief justice Md Abdul Wahhab Miah passed the order, disposing of a petition filed by BTRC seeking a stay on the High Court order.
The Supreme Court extended its chamber judge’s order that stayed the High Court’s directive halting the auction of 4G.
Following the order, there is no bar for BTRC to hold the auction.
On January 11, the High Court stayed the notice of BTRC seeking 4G licensing guideline and invitation of application for the auction of 4G spectrum.
The court had also issued a rule seeking an explanation as to why the notice and the policy, which was adopted in 2008, would not be declared illegal as the private company Banglalion Communication Limited filed a write in this regard.
The secretary of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Ministry and the BTRC chairman were asked to respond the rule as the notice contradict the Broadband Guideline of 2008.
On December 4, 2017, a special commission of BTRC decided to publish two guidelines and invite for application of 4G licence.
The tender inviting offers for the licence for the 4G mobile network was published at the BTRC’s official website on the same day.Some parts of the article were published on Bangla Tribune
Thursday, April 25, 2024
