Mobile number portability: Hurdle ends as BTRC seeks applications

The telecom regulator will not hold price auctions with companies seeking to provide mobile number portability or MNP services, but will handpick a participant through a ‘beauty contest’.

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission issued a notice seeking applications on Monday, after an amended MNP guideline was approved by the prime minister and the finance ministry, said BTRC Chairman Shahjahan Mahmood.

There will be no price auction, he told bdnews24.com. One company will receive a 15-year licence in return for a Tk 100 million fee, he said.   

As for the beauty contest, it means a committee will elect the winner after reviewing the financial capacity, technical skills and experiences of the companies that will apply for MNP licence. Beauty contest, a procurement mechanism, is different from price auction.

# Any foreign company can apply for the licence along with any company based in Bangladesh.

# The foreign company that applies for the licence with a Bangladeshi partner cannot have a stake in the business beyond 51 percent. This condition does not apply to non-resident Bangladeshis.

# No mobile operators, their directors, shareholders and partners cannot apply for the licence.

# Applicants must have at least three-year experience in providing MNP services to at least 10 million users in one or multiple countries.

# All applications must be submitted to the chairman of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission before Aug 23.

The licensing process will start soon after getting the applications, the BTRC chief said.

The use of a mobile-phone number over a period of time makes it a part of an individual or organisation’s identity. But they often have to switch operators to take advantage of a better network or more competitive plans on offer.

Operators in India and Pakistan also offer the MNP services to their subscribers.

According to the MNP guideline cleared by the authorities last year, the subscribers will be able to switch operators by paying Tk 30 without having to change the number. They will have to wait for 90 days to migrate to another network.

In the guideline, the BTRC set Tk 100,000 as the fee to register for the auction, Tk 1 million as bid earnest money and Tk 10 million as the base price.

After initially picking five companies eligible for the auction, the regulators set Sept 28 for the bidding last year, but again stayed it a week before the scheduled date.

State Minister for Telecom Tarana Halim said at the time that the auction would be held after getting clearance by intelligence agencies on the firms willing to bid.

Later in November last year, BTRC chief Shahjahan said 'some more' changes would be brought to procurement rules.