Application for 4G licence by Jan 14, spectrum auction on Feb 13

BTRC will auction 4G spectrum on Feb 13 and accept applications for licences until Jan 14 from telecom operators to offer the fourth-generation services.

BTRC Secretary Sarwar Alam told bdnews24.com that they took the decision in a meeting on Monday.

The telecom regulators would announce the dates in notices on its website and newspapers soon, he added.

In May, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission or BTRC prepared a draft of the spectrum allocation guidelines and sent it to the Posts and Telecommunications Division.

The commission received the guidelines with final approval by the Prime Minister’s Office.

According to the guideline,

>> No auction for licence will be held. Operators can take the licence by paying fees.

>> Application fee for 4G licence has been set at Tk 500,000. Licence can be obtained at Tk 100 million and the annual licence renewal fee is Tk 50 million.

>> Applicants must submit Tk 1,500 million as bank guarantee and pay 5.5 percent of its income in revenue sharing.

>> Base price for 1800 megahertz 4G spectrum is $30 million.

>> For converting 2G and 3G services spectrums to ‘technology neutral’, operators must pay per megahertz.