MNP licence through evaluation

Not auction but evaluation would be the process for the government to give licence for mobile number portability (MNP), said  BTRC chairman Shahjahan Mahmood.
He also said that after necessary change for the MNP licencing the guideline will be sent to the Posts and Telecommunications Division.
Mahmood also said, “After the ministry’s approval we will be able to start the process of issuing license for the MNP.“
MNP is a service that allows a cellphone customer to change telecom carrier and keep the same phone number.
Earlier, ICT adviser to the Prime Minister Sajib Wajed Joy said that evaluation should be the way to give licence for third party MNP service provider.
He came up with comment at a Posts and Telecommunications Division’s meeting on December 15.  In the meeting Joy said licence of MNP should not be given through auction but through proper evaluation. The process through which government will be able to select proper organisation to give the licence to.
The evolution process should be able to identify the organizations who do not have the right technical and financial eligibility, he also said.
Organisation with proper technical and financial support will have to roll out within a stipulated time otherwise their licence will be cancelled and the next in line will get the licence.
Posts and Telecommunications Division and Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) have been given the responsibility to  ensure to see the whole procedure. BTRC is just a proposer according to a telecom 2001 law which has been amended in 2010, ministry will only be the approver.
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.
Officials familiar with the process said the Posts and Telecommunications Division would send the MNP guidelines to the BTRC in next two or three days.
In 2013, BTRC has formulated the draft MNP guideline and submitted it to the Post and Telecommunication Division for approval.
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.
According to the guideline, the BTRC will issue a MNP license for 15 years at Tk 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 licence.
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.
There are 133.163 million active SIM in Bangladesh as of November 2015, according to the latest BTRC data.
Grameenphone, the market leader, has 56.477 million active mobile connections, while Banglalink comes in second with 32.956 million subscribers, according to data from the BTRC. Third in the market is Robi with some 28.296 million users, followed by Airtel with 10.345  million and Teletalk 4.058  million.

MNP licence through evaluation

Not auction but evaluation would be the process for the government to give licence for mobile number portability (MNP), said BTRC chairman Shahjahan Mahmood. He also said that after necessary change for the MNP licencing the guideline will be sent to the Posts and Telecommunications Division. Mahmood also said, After the ministrys approval we will be able to start the process of issuing license for the MNP. MNP is a service that allows a cellphone customer to change telecom carrier and keep the same phone number. Earlier, ICT adviser to the Prime Minister Sajib Wajed Joy said that evaluation should be the way to give licence for third party MNP service provider. He came up with comment at a Posts and Telecommunications Divisions meeting on December 15. In the meeting Joy said licence of MNP should not be given through auction but through proper evaluation. The process through which government will be able to select proper organisation to give the licence to. The evolution process should be able to identify the organizations who do not have the right technical and financial eligibility, he also said. Organisation with proper technical and financial support will have to roll out within a stipulated time otherwise their licence will be cancelled and the next in line will get the licence. Posts and Telecommunications Division and Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) have been given the responsibility to ensure to see the whole procedure. BTRC is just a proposer according to a telecom 2001 law which has been amended in 2010, ministry will only be the approver. 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. Officials familiar with the process said the Posts and Telecommunications Division would send the MNP guidelines to the BTRC in next two or three days. In 2013, BTRC has formulated the draft MNP guideline and submitted it to the Post and Telecommunication Division for approval. 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. According to the guideline, the BTRC will issue a MNP license for 15 years at Tk 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 licence. 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. There are 133.163 million active SIM in Bangladesh as of November 2015, according to the latest BTRC data. Grameenphone, the market leader, has 56.477 million active mobile connections, while Banglalink comes in second with 32.956 million subscribers, according to data from the BTRC. Third in the market is Robi with some 28.296 million users, followed by Airtel with 10.345 million and Teletalk 4.058 million.