BTRC sellsTk 10,645cr spectrum

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission sold out on Thursday 190MHz of spectrum for $1.23 billion or Tk 10,645 crore to four mobile phone operators.
The auction was held in a city hotel on the day.
The BTRC placed a total of 220 MHz of 2300 GHz and 2600 GHz bands for auction.
As per the auction, the country’s largest network operator Grameenphone has purchased 60 MHz of the 2600 GHz band spectrum for 15 years that makes its total spectrum at 107.40 MHz now.
The second largest operator Robi also acquired 60 MHz of 2600GHz spectrum band and its spectrum possession now stand at 104 MHz.
Banglalink obtained 40 MHz of 2300 GHz band spectrum that enhanced its spectrum capacity to 80MHz.
The state-owned Teletalk also participated in the country’s latest spectrum auction and purchased 30 MHz of spectrum.
Now, the spectrum capacity of the Teletalk reaches 55.20MHz.
Posts and telecommunications minister Mustafa Jabbar attended the auction as chief guest while Posts and Telecommunications Division secretary Md Khalilur Rahman as special guest.
Mustafa Jabbar at the function said Bangladesh would remember the historic 5G spectrum auction during the month of Independence.
‘I have received complaints from subscribers about standards and quality of telecom services. I hope the additional spectrums will help to improve the service quality,’ he said.
He also called upon the BTRC for allowing the operators for auctioning of the unsold 30MHz spectrum.
The minister also said the revenue received from the auction would aid the national development.
At the function, Md Khalilur Rahman called upon the MNOs for ensuring quality of services and thanked them for participating in the auction.
BTRC chairman Shyam Sunder Sikder said the auction was held in a free and fair manner.
‘The allocated spectrum will ensure quality of services,’ he said.
The MNOs will pay 10 per cent of spectrum acquisition cost by July 1, 2022 and are also required to roll out spectrum confirmation from the commission by January 1, 2023.