Robi-Airtel merger
PM�s Office to finalise terms, conditions
The merger of Robi and Airtel is now under the jurisdiction of the Prime Ministers Office (PMO) as the posts and telecommunications division (PTD) has forwarded a report on it incorporating a recommendation of specific merger charge. Talking to The Independent, State Minister for Posts and Telecommunications Tarana Halim yesterday said that they had sent a file regarding the issue to the PMO for finalising the terms and conditions of the merger.
Weve given our consent and sent the file to the PMO in a circumstance that they (Robi and Airtel) would fulfill all the conditions, she said. Tarana Halim, however, said they have kept the spectrum issue aside for the time being.
Officials of PDT familiar with the merger process said the telecom regulator sent their final observation incorporating few conditions regarding the countrys first ever merger in telecommunication sector two weeks ago.
Scrutinizing the regulators report, the PTD yesterday morning forwarded the file to the PMO with the recommendation of imposing merger charge. Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) sent the merger proposal to the PDT with several conditions. Foremost among them is the issue of amalgamation of the two operators spectrums.
Currently, Airtel has 20 MHz of spectrum and Robi 19.8 MHz. The two operators can merge their spectrums but Airtel cannot withdraw from the country before the expiry of its spectrum licenses. The tenure of Airtels 2G licence will end in 2020 and 3G in 2028.
In the merged entity, Axiata, the parent company of Robi, will hold a controlling stake of 68.7 per cent, Bharti Airtel 25 per cent and NTT Docomo of Japan 6.3 per cent.
The BTRC condition means Bharti Airtel cannot sell off its 25 per cent stake and withdraw from Bangladesh before 2028, when its 3G license expires.
Another condition is that the 016 prefix currently allocated to Airtel has to be retired within one year of the merger.
The existing Airtel subscribers will be given Robis current prefix of 018. As of February, there are 1.04 crore active numbers under the 016 series. Robi, however, wants to continue the use of 016 prefix for longer, as it will be able to issue more SIMs with two number series. As of February, Robis total active connections stood at 2.76 crore.
The BTRC has also forbidden the merged entity from cutting any jobs, but it will be able to offer voluntary retirement. At present, Airtel has about 800 employees, 470 of whom are permanent staff.
