Four private mobile-phone operators have secured spectrum in an uninspiring auction to introduce third generation (3G) mobile services in Bangladesh.
Published : 08 Sep 2013, 12:10 PM
Grameenphone, Banglalink, Robi and Airtel were the private bidders for as many licences after the BTRC had put 50 MHz under the hammer on Sunday. State-owned Teletalk had been providing the services on an experimental basis.
But a total of 25 MHz was sold at $21 million each at the auction held at Dhaka’s Hotel Ruposhi Bangla in presence of Posts and Telecommunications Minister Sahara Khatun and Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) officials.
The bids made the government’s kitty richer by $525 million (Tk 40.81 billion approximately).
The bidding, with a base price of $20 million per MHz, ended in two phases. In the first leg, Bangladesh’s largest operator Grameenphone bought 10 MHz at $ 21 million a MHz.
The other three operators did not take part in the first phase but they bought 5 MHz blocks in the second round of auction with the same price per MHz.
Though 15 MHz of spectrum – 38 percent of the total spectrum worth $315 million – remained unsold, BTRC Chairman Sunil Kanti Bose said the sale of 25 MHz was important. He said a decision on three unsold blocks, each of 5 MHz, would come later.
He said the government would get a total of Tk 40.81 billion from Sunday’s auction. Apart from it, Teletalk will buy 10 MHz spectrum at $21 million each.
The mobile carriers will have to pay 60 percent of the total amount in the first tranche within 30 days and the rest within 180 business days.
BTRC boss Bose said licences will be issued within 10 days after the operators deposited their money.
Asked when Grameenphone would be able to introduce the services to its 44.6 million customers, its Chief Executive Officer Vivek Sood skirted a direct answer.
“We are happy to get the spectrum to launch 3G. Grameenphone will bring the 3G services to it valued customers at the fastest possible time, ensuring the high quality,” he said.
Banglalink’s CEO Ziad Shatara also hoped to introduce the service ‘soon’.
"This is truly a memorable day for Bangladesh,” he said adding they would go for the next stage with the 3G licence.
Asked if the operator will provide quality services to its 27.3 million customers with a 5 MHz spectrum block, Shatara said the spectrum had been bought considering the number of their customers.
“We reiterate our commitment to deliver to our customers the next generation of technologies and value propositions.”
At a post-bidding media briefing, Bose doubted if Banglalink would be able to provide ‘quality service’ with the 5 MHz spectrum but added its officials would be in the best position to make comment.
Airtel, in a media statement, said they were determined to provide world-class 3G services in Bangladesh.
“We would like to thank the BTRC for conducting a fair and transparent auction. We are committed to the deploying a world class 3G network in the country.
“It will be our endeavor to delight customers with best in class 3G services backed by rich content from our global portfolio," the statement said.
Mobile operator Robi also echoed Airtel.
“Our bid was based on an exhaustive process that included a detailed study of the business case for the 5MHz spectrum, learning from similar experience amongst Axiata OpCos such as Idea and consultation with the Group,” a statement from the company said.
“Robi management is confident that very soon we will be able to provide our customers with a 3G experience that fully meets their expectations,” it said.
The four mobile operators deposited bid earnest money of $20 million each on Aug 29 to ensure their participation in the auction.
As per the 3G policy, the licences will be valid for 15 years.
Bangladesh’s first and only Code division multiple access (CDMA) operator Citycell dropped out of the bidding as they failed to submit their earnest money due to ‘financial crisis’.