Mobile number portability to be launched by April

MNP system enables cell phone users to retain their mobile telephone numbers even after changing from one mobile network operator to another

The government is set to introduce mobile number portability (MNP) system in April to enable cell phone users to retain their mobile telephone numbers even after changing from one mobile network operator to another, a senior official of Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) said yesterday.
BTRC has decided to float an international tender in March to appoint a third party MNP operator to provide the service, the BTRC official said.
A Tk 10 million has been fixed as floor price for the auction, he said.
The decision to float tender was made after the MNP guideline was approved by the finance ministry and Prime Minister’s Office last week.
Once the MNP is introduced, customers can switch to one mobile phone operator to another operator keeping their number unchanged and they can again avail the facility after 40 days with a subscription fee of Tk 30.
“The government is going to introduce MNP to improve quality of services and create fair competition among mobile operators. If subscribers do not get desired services, they will be free to switch to another operator. Thus, operators will have to improve quality of services. None of the operators have objected to MNP. We hope it will create a level playing field among them,” State Minister for Post and Telecommunications Tarana Halim said.
“None of the operators have objected to MNP. We hope it will create a level playing field among them,” she said.
On assuming the charge of the telecommunication sector as the junior minister earlier this year, Tarana Halim promised to introduce the MNP by March 2016 so the mobile phone users could choose networks of their choices retaining the same number.
According to the guideline, the BTRC will issue a MNP licence for 15 years at BDT 20 lakh as annual license fee and the MNP operator has to share revenue with the government at 5.5 per cent rate from the second year of the license.
Any Bangladeshi or expatriate Bangladeshi owned company registered in the country will be eligible to bid in the auction but foreign companies having partnership with Bangladeshi ones could also take part in the auction.
The foreign companies, however, can hold as high as 51 per cent share, and the company must invest in foreign currency and they could get no chance to mobilize fund from Bangladeshi market.
The guideline said owner or director, partner, investor and shareholder of any mobile phone operator registered in Bangladesh will be ineligible to take part in the tender.
Seventy two countries including the neighboring India and Pakistan have already adopted the popular system for their customers, while Singapore is the pioneer in the field.
Currently, Bangladesh has six mobile phone operators including Teletalk. The other five are Grameenphone, Robi, Airtel, Banglalink and Citycell.
According to BTRC, 132 million of Bangladesh’s 160 million people had mobile phone subscribers until October this year. Of them, 54.6 million had internet connections while 52.3 million people access internet through mobile phone.

Mobile number portability to be launched by April

MNP system enables cell phone users to retain their mobile telephone numbers even after changing from one mobile network operator to another

The government is set to introduce mobile number portability (MNP) system in April to enable cell phone users to retain their mobile telephone numbers even after changing from one mobile network operator to another, a senior official of Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) said yesterday. BTRC has decided to float an international tender in March to appoint a third party MNP operator to provide the service, the BTRC official said. A Tk 10 million has been fixed as floor price for the auction, he said. The decision to float tender was made after the MNP guideline was approved by the finance ministry and Prime Ministers Office last week. Once the MNP is introduced, customers can switch to one mobile phone operator to another operator keeping their number unchanged and they can again avail the facility after 40 days with a subscription fee of Tk 30. The government is going to introduce MNP to improve quality of services and create fair competition among mobile operators. If subscribers do not get desired services, they will be free to switch to another operator. Thus, operators will have to improve quality of services. None of the operators have objected to MNP. We hope it will create a level playing field among them, State Minister for Post and Telecommunications Tarana Halim said. None of the operators have objected to MNP. We hope it will create a level playing field among them, she said. On assuming the charge of the telecommunication sector as the junior minister earlier this year, Tarana Halim promised to introduce the MNP by March 2016 so the mobile phone users could choose networks of their choices retaining the same number. According to the guideline, the BTRC will issue a MNP licence for 15 years at BDT 20 lakh as annual license fee and the MNP operator has to share revenue with the government at 5.5 per cent rate from the second year of the license. Any Bangladeshi or expatriate Bangladeshi owned company registered in the country will be eligible to bid in the auction but foreign companies having partnership with Bangladeshi ones could also take part in the auction. The foreign companies, however, can hold as high as 51 per cent share, and the company must invest in foreign currency and they could get no chance to mobilize fund from Bangladeshi market. The guideline said owner or director, partner, investor and shareholder of any mobile phone operator registered in Bangladesh will be ineligible to take part in the tender. Seventy two countries including the neighboring India and Pakistan have already adopted the popular system for their customers, while Singapore is the pioneer in the field. Currently, Bangladesh has six mobile phone operators including Teletalk. The other five are Grameenphone, Robi, Airtel, Banglalink and Citycell. According to BTRC, 132 million of Bangladeshs 160 million people had mobile phone subscribers until October this year. Of them, 54.6 million had internet connections while 52.3 million people access internet through mobile phone.