Govt mulls 2G, 3G auction before Robi-Airtel merger

The government is mulling an auction of the remainder of the airwaves in the 3G and 2G bands prior to the merger of the two cellular phone operators of the country, Robi and Airtel Bangladesh.
Talking to The Independent, Tarana Halim, state minister for posts and telecommunications, said the government does not want to keep idle the spectrum—a most valuable but limited resource—without any deployment.
“We don’t want to correlate the merger of Robi-Airtel with the spectrum auction, as the two issues are fully separate. So, the merger (Robi-Airtel) would go on its own way and the auction of the unused spectrum of 3G bands would take place whenever the government feels it is right,” said the state minister.
She, however, conceded that the merger of the two operators was linked to several issues, which is why it might take time.
On December 15, the Posts and Telecommunications Division, at a meeting held to review the progress and development of its activities, also opted to utilise the idle spectrum as early as possible. The adviser for information and communications technology (ICT) to Prime Minister Shekha Hasina, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, was present at the meeting.
According to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), the country has a total of 15 MHz in three blocks (5 MHz each) in 2,100 MHz.
Bangladesh held a 3G auction in September 2013, where four private operators bought 25 MHz at USD 21 million each from 50 MHz, while state-owned Teletalk was allotted a 10 MHz airwave. A total of 15 MHz spectrum now remains unsold.
BTRC officials said the merger of the two operators would also create the scope for them to amalgamate the spectrums Robi and Airtel own in different bands for 2G and 3G services. So they would not take part in the auction to collect additional spectrum, the officials opined, which might cause huge losses to the government.
Robi and Airtel submitted applications in September 9 this year to the regulator seeking permission for a merger.
Earlier, on February 19 this year, the telecom regulator published guidelines for auction in 1,800 MHz and 2,100 MHz bands. According to the guidelines, spectrum of 10.60 MHz is available in two blocks for auction in 1,800 MHz band or 2G, and 15 MHz spectrum in three blocks is available in 2,100 MHz band or 3G. The base price for 1,800 MHz was initially set at USD 30 million, and at USD 22 million for 2,100 MHz.
However, the auction has not taken place yet, as the cellular phone operators together abstained from participating.

 

Govt mulls 2G, 3G auction before Robi-Airtel merger

The government is mulling an auction of the remainder of the airwaves in the 3G and 2G bands prior to the merger of the two cellular phone operators of the country, Robi and Airtel Bangladesh. Talking to The Independent, Tarana Halim, state minister for posts and telecommunications, said the government does not want to keep idle the spectruma most valuable but limited resourcewithout any deployment. We dont want to correlate the merger of Robi-Airtel with the spectrum auction, as the two issues are fully separate. So, the merger (Robi-Airtel) would go on its own way and the auction of the unused spectrum of 3G bands would take place whenever the government feels it is right, said the state minister. She, however, conceded that the merger of the two operators was linked to several issues, which is why it might take time. On December 15, the Posts and Telecommunications Division, at a meeting held to review the progress and development of its activities, also opted to utilise the idle spectrum as early as possible. The adviser for information and communications technology (ICT) to Prime Minister Shekha Hasina, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, was present at the meeting. According to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), the country has a total of 15 MHz in three blocks (5 MHz each) in 2,100 MHz. Bangladesh held a 3G auction in September 2013, where four private operators bought 25 MHz at USD 21 million each from 50 MHz, while state-owned Teletalk was allotted a 10 MHz airwave. A total of 15 MHz spectrum now remains unsold. BTRC officials said the merger of the two operators would also create the scope for them to amalgamate the spectrums Robi and Airtel own in different bands for 2G and 3G services. So they would not take part in the auction to collect additional spectrum, the officials opined, which might cause huge losses to the government. Robi and Airtel submitted applications in September 9 this year to the regulator seeking permission for a merger. Earlier, on February 19 this year, the telecom regulator published guidelines for auction in 1,800 MHz and 2,100 MHz bands. According to the guidelines, spectrum of 10.60 MHz is available in two blocks for auction in 1,800 MHz band or 2G, and 15 MHz spectrum in three blocks is available in 2,100 MHz band or 3G. The base price for 1,800 MHz was initially set at USD 30 million, and at USD 22 million for 2,100 MHz. However, the auction has not taken place yet, as the cellular phone operators together abstained from participating.