BTRC defends again 2G licence renewal fee
Monday, 25 April 2011
FE Report
The telecom regulator showed once again the rationale of fixing charge for Second Generation (2G) licence renewal fees of four mobile operators as the companies are to earn Tk 2.0 trillion (2.0 lakh crore) in the next 15 years. The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) said operators will have to pay only Tk 280 billion in fees. "The operators will not face any problem in paying the money in the stipulated time as it is evident from their earnings," said Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) Chairman Zia Ahmed. He was speaking at the 'meet the press' organised by Telecom Reporters Forum (TRF) at Dhaka Club Sunday. He said they have fixed Tk 140 billion as revenue and the rest of the money for the spectrum charge. However, Telecommunication Minister Rajiuddin Ahmed Raju said they will find out a better solution for the 2G renewal licence. He also said they are doing all things in a planned way. In reply to a question the BTRC chairman said it is easily understood whether the companies are making profit or not if we see their dazzling billboards across the country. In the programme, the minister unveiled the TRF publication 'Telco Voice'. Earlier, the minister at a meeting with the operators said they will fix the fee at a rational level after consultation with the finance minister. Following the result of the meeting, the operators have got three months more for application of 2G renewal licence which is supposed to be submitted by May 10 next. The current licence of four mobile telephony firms - Grameenphone, Banglalink, Robi and Citycell - will expire in November this year. Parliamentary standing committee members on post and telecommunication ministry ASM Firoz, Moazzem Hossain Ratan, Khaled Mahmud Chowdhury and secretary of the ministry Sunil Kanti Bose spoke in the programme. According to the BTRC draft guideline, the present market leader Grameenphone has to pay US$ 754 million, Banglalink $ 410 million, Robi $ 411 million and Citycell $ 85 million as spectrum fee on the basis of the utilisation factor (UF). The new policy said the spectrum application will require Tk 50,000 as fee. The spectrum assignment fee per mega hertz for GSM (Global System for Mobile) has been set at Tk 1.50 billion for 1,800 band, Tk 3.0 billion for 900 band and Tk 1.50 billion for per mega hertz in CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) system.
The telecom regulator showed once again the rationale of fixing charge for Second Generation (2G) licence renewal fees of four mobile operators as the companies are to earn Tk 2.0 trillion (2.0 lakh crore) in the next 15 years. The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) said operators will have to pay only Tk 280 billion in fees. "The operators will not face any problem in paying the money in the stipulated time as it is evident from their earnings," said Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) Chairman Zia Ahmed. He was speaking at the 'meet the press' organised by Telecom Reporters Forum (TRF) at Dhaka Club Sunday. He said they have fixed Tk 140 billion as revenue and the rest of the money for the spectrum charge. However, Telecommunication Minister Rajiuddin Ahmed Raju said they will find out a better solution for the 2G renewal licence. He also said they are doing all things in a planned way. In reply to a question the BTRC chairman said it is easily understood whether the companies are making profit or not if we see their dazzling billboards across the country. In the programme, the minister unveiled the TRF publication 'Telco Voice'. Earlier, the minister at a meeting with the operators said they will fix the fee at a rational level after consultation with the finance minister. Following the result of the meeting, the operators have got three months more for application of 2G renewal licence which is supposed to be submitted by May 10 next. The current licence of four mobile telephony firms - Grameenphone, Banglalink, Robi and Citycell - will expire in November this year. Parliamentary standing committee members on post and telecommunication ministry ASM Firoz, Moazzem Hossain Ratan, Khaled Mahmud Chowdhury and secretary of the ministry Sunil Kanti Bose spoke in the programme. According to the BTRC draft guideline, the present market leader Grameenphone has to pay US$ 754 million, Banglalink $ 410 million, Robi $ 411 million and Citycell $ 85 million as spectrum fee on the basis of the utilisation factor (UF). The new policy said the spectrum application will require Tk 50,000 as fee. The spectrum assignment fee per mega hertz for GSM (Global System for Mobile) has been set at Tk 1.50 billion for 1,800 band, Tk 3.0 billion for 900 band and Tk 1.50 billion for per mega hertz in CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) system.