Citycell pays Tk 1 bn in dues to BTRC two days before deadline

Citycell has paid Tk 1 billion in dues to the regulator two days before the deadline set by the highest court.

The struggling mobile phone operator paid the sum at noon on Thursday, said Ahsan Habib, acting chairman of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC).

Citycell, the country’s lone CDMA provider, was shut down on Oct 21 after it failed to clear its dues despite being served with multiple notices.

After the mobile operator moved the court, the Appellate Division ordered the authorities to immediately reinstate Citycell’s spectrum while allowing the operator until Nov 19 to pay Tk 1 billion.

The BTRC, on Nov 6, carried out the order and the country’s oldest operator was able to resume operations 17 days after it was shut down.

Timeline

>>Citycell owes the government Tk 4.77 billion, according to the BTRC. In July, the regulator made public the process to close down the operator for its failure to pay the dues. The operator was served with a notice the following month.

>> The operator moved the High Court against the BTRC’s notice and got a month's lifeline to continue operations.

>> The BTRC challenged the order in the Supreme Court. On Aug 29, the Appellate Division gave two months’ time to Citycell to pay back the money. The BTRC then said two-third of the Tk 4.77 billion had to be paid within a month.

>> On Oct 20, BTRC officials accompanied by law enforcers entered Citycell’s Mohakhali offices and closed down its spectrum. Minister Tarana Halim then said the operator had only paid Tk 1.3 billion out of the Tk 3.18 billion payable in the first instalment.

>> Citycell moved the Supreme Court challenging suspension of its spectrum allocation. On Nov 3, the court ordered the regulator to reinstate its spectrum.

>> On Nov 6, the mobile operator once again moved the court as its spectrum had not been opened three days after the verdict. The court then sought an explanation from the BTRC, which said it had already started the process. The regulators opened the spectrum the same day.

In 1989, a licence to operate wireless telecom services in the county was issued to Bangladesh Telecom Ltd (BTL).

Investments from the Hong Kong-based Hutchison Telecommunication Ltd came the next year and the company was then ‘re-christened’ as Hutchison Bangladesh Telecom Ltd (HBTL).

 In 1993, HBTL launched mobile phone services in Bangladesh.

In December the same year, the company changed hands.

The then foreign minister Morshed Khan-owned Pacific Motors and Far East Telecom bought HBTL's shares and it was renamed Pacific Bangladesh Telecom, with the brand name of Citycell.

In 2004, the Singapore-based SingTel Asia Pacific Investments Pte Limited pumped money into the firm. Morshed Khan made huge profits by selling a large portion of his Pacific Motors stakes in Citycell to SingTel at the time.

According to the latest data published on the Citycell website, Pacific Motors has 37.95 percent share of Citycell, SingTel 45 percent and Far East Telecom 17.51 percent.