Mobile operators pay 2G licence renewal fees

FE ReportFour mobile operators paid their 2nd generation (2G) licence renewal fees Monday without the disputed amount that will be settled by the court. Vice-Chairman of Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) Giashuddin Ahmed told the FE that the commission received the payments of the operators on the basis of their commitment as they will pay the dues after scrutinisation. "We will examine the payments and then we will offer the licence," he said adding, "The amount fixed by the commission for the 2G licence renewal fee cannot be deducted". On the other hand, the mobile operators said they will pay the rest of the amount either to BTRC or to NBR (National Board of Revenue) after the solution of the VAT-related complication. Among the operators, only Grameenphone (GP) paid both the spectrum charge and the renewal fee Monday. GP has paid Tk 13.49 billion as the spectrum charge out of around Tk 15.88 billion and Tk 85 million for 2G licence renewal fee. Besides, Banglalink, Robi and Citycell also paid the same amount for 2G licence renewal fee. Ashis Kumar Kunda, Director (Finance) of BTRC, received the payments from the operators. The rest three operators will pay their spectrum charge within the consecutive seven days, said the BTRC vice-chairman.