Robi-Airtel merger

BTRC to seek opinion of other operators today

The Telecom regulator is going to sit with the mobile phone operators today on the country’s first ever merger of two operators—Robi and Airtel Bangladesh.
Bangladesh Telecommunication Regu-latory Commission (BTRC) has issued a letter to the chief executive officers of Grameenphone, Banglalink and Citycell as well as managing director of state-owned operator Teletalk to have a discussion at the BTRC head office at 11 am today. The letter was signed by BTRC Senior Assistant Director (Legal and Licensing) S M Golam Sarwar.  
The commission called the operators before the public hearing of this merger on February 17.   Three representatives from each operator could attend the meeting with the BTRC chairman, commissioners and concerned officials said.
Earlier, replying to a query regarding the mode of hearing other operators, Shahjahan Mahmood said: “We will seek opinion from the operators separately, as the two operators (Robi-Airtel) are also in the Association of Mobile Telecom Operators of Bangladesh (AMTOB), the platform of the operators.”
However, telecom and company law expert Barrister Ashraful Hadi has opined “there is no scope under the BT Act to seek opinion from the operators”.  
As per the Telecommunication Act 2001, he said, the telecom regulator would only ensure whether the merged company has the eligibility or qualified of getting license.  
About the merger, Telecom Act 2001 at its clause 37 said where the licensee is a company, society or partnership, the compulsory obligation of such licensee to take prior approval of the Commission in the following cases: any change in the ownership or share capital of the company, society or partnership, which has the effect of transferring the control over the activities under the license; or merger of the company, society or partnership with any other company or enterprise: Provided that, while giving such prior approval, the Commission shall consider whether or not the person, company or enterprise, who or which will acquire control over the licensed activities due to the proposed merger or change, is eligible for obtaining a license, and whether or not the change will affect the continuity of those activities.

Robi-Airtel merger

BTRC to seek opinion of other operators today

The Telecom regulator is going to sit with the mobile phone operators today on the countrys first ever merger of two operatorsRobi and Airtel Bangladesh. Bangladesh Telecommunication Regu-latory Commission (BTRC) has issued a letter to the chief executive officers of Grameenphone, Banglalink and Citycell as well as managing director of state-owned operator Teletalk to have a discussion at the BTRC head office at 11 am today. The letter was signed by BTRC Senior Assistant Director (Legal and Licensing) S M Golam Sarwar. The commission called the operators before the public hearing of this merger on February 17. Three representatives from each operator could attend the meeting with the BTRC chairman, commissioners and concerned officials said. Earlier, replying to a query regarding the mode of hearing other operators, Shahjahan Mahmood said: We will seek opinion from the operators separately, as the two operators (Robi-Airtel) are also in the Association of Mobile Telecom Operators of Bangladesh (AMTOB), the platform of the operators. However, telecom and company law expert Barrister Ashraful Hadi has opined there is no scope under the BT Act to seek opinion from the operators. As per the Telecommunication Act 2001, he said, the telecom regulator would only ensure whether the merged company has the eligibility or qualified of getting license. About the merger, Telecom Act 2001 at its clause 37 said where the licensee is a company, society or partnership, the compulsory obligation of such licensee to take prior approval of the Commission in the following cases: any change in the ownership or share capital of the company, society or partnership, which has the effect of transferring the control over the activities under the license; or merger of the company, society or partnership with any other company or enterprise: Provided that, while giving such prior approval, the Commission shall consider whether or not the person, company or enterprise, who or which will acquire control over the licensed activities due to the proposed merger or change, is eligible for obtaining a license, and whether or not the change will affect the continuity of those activities.