Several foreign operators for 3G

More than one new foreign mobile-phone operators will get 3G licence, as the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications has decided to rearrange the slot for spectrum assignment of the 3G mobile broadband technology.

Acting Post and Telecommunication Secretary Abu Bakar Siddique told bdnews24.com on Wednesday that the ministry decided to incorporate the provision for more foreign operators in the final 3G guideline against one fixed in the draft guideline.

“The decision has been made to pave the way for more foreign investors in the 3G service. We’ve talked to the top officials of all the local mobile-phone operators and they’ve agreed to the latest initiative,” he said.

In the draft guideline, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) had allocated a total of 50 MHz spectrum in 2100 band for 3G that was supposed to be distributed among five operators through auction.

Four licences would be awarded from the six operators while another would be a new foreign operator, the draft guideline proposed.

Struggling state-run Teletalk would provide the services by default by paying the lowest bid money. It is already providing the 3G services on trial from Oct 14 last year.

Siddique said that the BTRC decided to offer 5-Megahertz slots for the spectrum of 3G services instead of 10-MHz that was earlier decided.

"The new slot of spectrum would not only help the small operators commercially, but it will also pave the way for more foreign operators who are keen to invest here," he said.

Recently the telecom ministry in a letter to the Ministry of Finance proposed $20 million for per megahertz spectrum as the starting price in the 3G spectrum auction.

The telecom secretary said the latest BTRC move would create a total of 10 slots of the spectrum and each would be 5-MHz that might help the small operators in terms of getting users. "Now, the auction would be held for eight slots instead of four slots."

Big operators could buy two slots in the auction, he said, adding "We've kept option for the operator to buy additional slot unsold after auction."

The BTRC had submitted the draft guideline on 3G licence to the telecom ministry on Mar 28. The auction for 3G spectrum will be held by March.

3G comes after GPRS and EDGE. The advantages of 3G services include faster connectivity, which means one can download information and surf web faster.

It gives uninterrupted video streaming on phones, enables video calls and big MMS and is conducive for data-intensive applications.