Robi paying BTRC Tk 20bn for renewal of spectrum from Airtel

Mobile telecom operator Robi is paying the government more than Tk 20 billion for spectrum licence renewal lasting 10 years.

It received the 11.6 megahertz 2G spectrum, which is expiring in December 2020, from Airtel after the merger of the two companies in 2016

Robi transferred Tk 4.56 billion to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission in the first instalment of the payment on Sunday, said Shahed Alam, chief corporate and regulatory officer at the company.

The firm is renewing the spectrum at the government-fixed rate, said Shyam Sunder Sikder, the chairman of BTRC.

A BTRC official said they fixed the spectrum renewal fees for Robi after taking opinions from the other operators in August.

Shahed said they are paying nearly $2.4 million, or over Tk 20 billion, for the spectrum renewal in six instalments over a five-year period ending in 2025.

The BTRC auctioned 4G and extra spectrum for the last time in 2018 when Grameenphone and Banglalink were allocated the spectrum for 15 years at $31 million per spectrum.

Currently Robi uses a total of 36.4 megahertz spectrum after the merger with Airtel.

Robi’s total assets are worth Tk 171.97 billion, according its financial report for the year 2019. In November this year, the BTRC said the number of Robi’s subscribers was more than 50 million.