The telecom regulator has sent a draft amendment to Nationwide Telecommunication Transmission Network guideline to the telecommunications ministry which will allow the mobile and WiMAX operators to enter into the NTTN business. Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission officials said the draft amendment to the NTTN guideline would allow mobile phone companies and WiMAX operators to get the NTTN licence by forming subsidiary companies.
The mobile operators and WiMAX operators cannot hold more than 40 per cent share in the subsidiary companies, it said.
The draft guideline also reduced the licence fee to Tk 1 crore from existing Tk 3 crore and annual licence fees to Tk 10 lakh from Tk 25 lakh.
The guideline also reduced the rollout period to 5 years from 10 years by which the operators will have to set up the fibre optic connection to upazila level.
The new NTTN operators have no revenue sharing for the first two years and 1 per cent from the third year.
Currently two operators — Fiber@Home Limited and Summit Communication — are NTTN licensees who obtained the permission from the BTRC in 2009.
The NTTN operators are authorised to develop and maintain any kind of network infrastructure across the country. The mobile phone operators and others have to rent or lease the infrastructure from the NTTN operators for network coverage.
The draft of the NTTN guideline said if NTTN operators could extend its network up to the upazilas within five years, those will be exempted from the revenue sharing and get assistance from the government’s social obligation fund.
The BTRC officials said the change in the guideline would allow the government to use capacity of mobile phone operators and broadband wireless service operators to reach out the facility to mass people.
‘We have sent the draft to the posts and telecommunications ministry for approval. After the approval the new rules will come into affect,’ a BTRC official told New Age.
Asked about the issue telecom secretary Abubakar Siddique told New Age that the matter was still under process.
‘The BTRC has recently sent the draft and we are examining it. After the completion of the process, we will give our opinion on the matter considering the betterment of the sector,’ he said.
-With New Age input
