GP calls for consultation before 4G auction

Grameenphone has urged the government to organise a consultation meeting with mobile operators ahead of the spectrum auction for 4G service, saying still there are lots of unaddressed issues.

For instance, the spectrum floor price for the auction is very high, the country's leading mobile operator told a group of reporters yesterday.

"Although the government has already slashed the technology neutrality charge to $7.5 million per megahertz from $10 million, it is still very high and not affordable," said Mahmud Hossain, chief corporate affairs officer of Grameenphone.

Technology neutrality allows the operators to offer either of 2G, 3G or 4G services from any band as they see fit, a facility that helps in reducing the operational costs and improving the service quality.

At present, Grameenphone is using 14.6 MHz of spectrum in the 1,800 band and 7.4 MHz in the 900 band.

The operator will have to pay $165 million only to avail the technology neutrality facility if the guideline is finalised in its current form.

The government also accepted the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission's proposal to set $27 million, $30 million and $35 million for each MHz of spectrum in three different bands in the upcoming auction. However, the mobile operators are calling for $15 million for each MHz in all three bands.

Grameenphone wants technology neutrality, the spectrum auction and the awarding of 4G licence to take place at once, as it would then be able to roll out the service within three months of getting the green light, Hossain said.

Meanwhile, the government recently organised a meeting with BTRC officials and other high officials, where Prime Minister's ICT Affairs Adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy was present.

It was decided at the meeting that the government will slash the licence acquisition fee from Tk 15 crore to Tk 10 and the annual fee from Tk 7.5 to Tk 5 crore.

"We are welcoming these changes but still there are some issues left that need to be addressed and to resolve that we want a face-to-face meeting," Hossain said.

Also at the meeting it was decided that the operators will have to retain the mobile subscribers' usage data for 12 years.

"This is surprising for us and it will increase our costs," said Hossain Sadat, head of regulatory affairs of Grameenphone. The operator, which has 6.2 crore active connections, generated two terabits of data a year.

Grameenphone also welcomed the decision to lift the restriction on the source of funding. The telecom watchdog had earlier recommended making it mandatory to ensure all investment was in foreign currency.

Hossain also said there are some other issues that are directly tagged with the guideline, like 4G handset penetration.

"If we get the chance to import handsets it will help increase the penetration as we are ready to subsidise it to expand our business periphery," he added.

Currently, 4G-enabled handsets penetration is only 5-6 percent.

In 2013, when 3G was introduced in the country, smartphone penetration was very low. At present, it stands at about 30 percent.

Currently, 4G service is available in all the neighbouring countries and the government is eager to launch it by this year.

As of February, there are more than 7 crore mobile internet users in Bangladesh, 3.5 crore of which use 3G service.