Bangladesh regulators greenlight Robi-Airtel merger

The telecoms regulators have given the final clearance to the merger of mobile-phone operators Robi and Airtel.

Now the two operators will be unified by paying the fee, BTRC Chairman Shahjahan Mahmood says.

"The entire process of the merger has nearly ended through this clearance," Mahmood told bdnews24.com after the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) approved the tie-up in a meeting on Tuesday.

He said 'some minor' conditions were set for the merger, but did not reveal the details.

After the marriage, the new entity will become the second largest operator in Bangladesh and operate as Robi.

Robi hopes to complete the process of merger during the fourth quarter (October-December) of this year.

The High Court approved the merger proposal in August.

After the merger, Robi and Aritel's combined customer strengths will increase to around 40 million, which is a fourth of Bangladesh’s total mobile subscribers.

Grameenphone, with 50 million subscribers, is currently Bangladesh’s largest operator.

An agreement between Robi and Aritel for the proposed merger was signed on Jan 28.

The BTRC was then intimated and the telecoms regulators sent the estimate to the Posts and Telecommunications Division recommending the merger.

It recommended that Airtel cannot sell its 25 percent ownership in the new company until 2018, when the operator's 3G licence deadline will end.

Then on Jul 13, a meeting at the finance ministry had fixed Tk 1 billion as the fee for the merger.

State Minister for Posts and Telecommunications Tarana Halim on Aug 1 said the Prime Minister's Office had also endorsed the merger.

The BTRC and telecoms ministry officials, however, had projected earlier that the spectrum unification fee could go up to Tk 5 billion. But that would be finalised after the operators decide how much 2G spectrum they would unite.

No fee would be payable for 3G spectrum allocation of up to 5Mhz.

Robi currently holds 19.80 Mhz and Airtel 20 Mhz spectrum. A united spectrum would be of 39.80 Mhz after the amalgamation.

Airtel's 2G licence expires in December 2020.

Grameenphone holds 32 Mhz, the largest spectrum share owned by any company.

Malaysia-based Axiata Group Berhad owns Robi and Airtel is the subsidiary of Bharti Airtel Limited of India.