Grameenphone reluctant to provide MNP services to subscribers
GP earns a significant
portion of its revenue from numbers that the operator had issued at the time of launching the mobile phone service in the country
Tareque Moretaza
Grameenphone, the countrys largest telecom operator, is reluctant to provide the mobile number portability (MNP) service to its subscribers, although other operators have agreed to provide their customers with the service which would allow mobile phone users people to change operators without altering a single digit of their phone numbers.
In January, the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regularity Commission (BTRC) had asked for telecom operators opinion on launching the MNP service. All telecom operators, except Grameenphone, were in agreement with the regulators proposal, according to the minutes of 182nd meeting of the BTRC. Also, in 2012, the telecom operators had agreed to launch MNP at the time of renewal of licence.
According to the BTRC regulations, mobile phone users will get the ownership of their registered number when the MNP service is launched. They will be able to switch to any mobile phone operator without changing their numbers.
However, BTRC insiders told The Independent that the MNP service might not be launched before the end of this year even after completion of all the necessary procedures.
On May 30, an e-mail was sent to the Grameenphone communication department. The mail inquired about the telecom operators reluctance to provide the MNP service to its subscribers. The operator, however, did not respond to that mail. Another mail was sent to the operator in this regard, but to no avail.
BTRC secretary Md Sarwar Alam told The Independent that MNP guidelines have already been sent to the post and telecommunication ministry. Once the draft guideline is approved by the ministry, a third party will be appointed to launch the MNP service, he added.
Grameenphone earns a significant portion of its revenue from numbers that the operator had issued at the time of launching the mobile phone service in the country, said the BTRC official.
The BTRC will provide licence to a company for a 15-year period. The proposed licence acquisition fee is Tk 3 crore, with the annual licence fee being Tk. 50 lakh. The regulator has proposed Tk. 3 crore as security money and Tk. 10 lakh as application fee for getting the licence. The cost of getting the MNP service will be fixed during the pre-auction process, according to the commissions proposal at its 182nd meeting.
BTRC chairman Sunil Kanti Bose said the MNP service will be implemented soon after getting the post and telecommunication ministrys approval. Were ready to launch the service by appointing a third party, he added.
Bose said there was a previous condition that mobile operators would provide the MNP service during their renewal of licence in 2011.
A senior official of the BTRC told The Independent that changes have been made in the MNP service launching process due to technical problems. He said operators wanted to know how the last mobile balance of MNP service holders will be transferred and whether the number would be closed when a subscriber opts to change his/her operator.
A user can switch operator by using a maximum of Tk. 50,000, according to the BTRCs MNP guidelines which were prepared on June 13, 2013. Both postpaid and prepaid subscribers can avail of the service. There was also a direction to launch the service within seven months and form a consortium within three months, state the guidelines.
In November 2014, public consultations were held for launching the MNP service by the end of this year, as the consortium had not been formed to launch the MNP service in time. The BTRC had accepted opinions till December 20, 2014 through e-mail and post.
Mohammad Julfiker, director of the BTRCs systems and service department, told The Independent that they have received more responses than had been expected during public consultations.
Garmeenphone was incorporated on 10 October 1996 as a private limited company. The company converted to a public limited company on 25 June 2007. The shareholding structure comprises of mainly two sponsor Shareholders namely Telenor Mobile Communications AS (55.80 per centt) and Grameen Telecom (34.20 per cent). The rest 10 per cent shareholding includes General public and other Institutions.
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