Without signing any memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the mobile phone operators to reach a consensus over 2G licence renewal, the government has decided to renew licences of four companies on Tuesday.
Post and Telecommunications Minister Rajiuddin Ahmed will hand over the licences, valid for the next 15 years, to the operators – Grameenphone, Banglalink, Robi and Citycell – at a function in the main conference room of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) at 3:30pm.
BTRC Chairman Maj Gen (Retd) Zia Ahmed told bdnews24.com on Monday that no agreement would be signed between BTRC and the operators for the licence renewal.
He said that the 2G licences were being renewed as recommended by the government and the operators would have to pay the second instalment of fees and charges as per law.
Upon receiving a letter from the Post and Telecommunications Ministry, the telecom regulator on Aug 1 invited four mobile companies to renew their licences on Tuesday.
The ministry in its letter asked BTRC to issue licences to the operators within a week after settling issues with the operators, and sign a tripartite agreement with the National Board of Revenue (NBR) and the operators.
The BTRC chief on Aug 2 said that they were reviewing the draft of the agreement and the final decision on it would be taken after the review.
However, a senior BTRC official told bdnews24.com that the Commission would not proceed with the proposed agreement to avoid legal complexities in the licence renewal.
On July 26 this year, Finance Minister A M A Abdul Muhith, after a meeting with representatives from mobile-phone operators, BTRC and NBR, had said that 2G licences would be renewed by August. He also said that both parties were asked to withdraw from legal battle before the licences were renewed.
BTRC is currently screening the draft of 12 conditions discussed with the minister to reach a consensus with the mobile phone operators.
After a stand-off with BTRC for more than nine months, the telecom regulator on Thursday sent letters to the four mobile phone operators asking them to send their representatives to get their 2G licences renewed on Aug 7 for the next 15 years, as recommended by the telecom ministry.
On Sept 11 last year, the watchdog had published final guidelines on renewing the licences, two months before 2G licences of the four operators expired.
BTRC was supposed to renew the licences by Nov 10, but it did not, and the operators took the issue to the High Court which is yet to give its ruling on the matter.
In November last year, the four operators had deposited the first instalment of their renewal and frequency allocation fee. The second instalment was supposed to be paid by Aug 1, but the telecom regulator has extended the deadline by a month.
The four operators are paying Tk 75.63 billion for the renewal.
According to BTRC, over 90 million people are currently using mobile phone across the country.
Post and Telecommunications Minister Rajiuddin Ahmed will hand over the licences, valid for the next 15 years, to the operators – Grameenphone, Banglalink, Robi and Citycell – at a function in the main conference room of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) at 3:30pm.
BTRC Chairman Maj Gen (Retd) Zia Ahmed told bdnews24.com on Monday that no agreement would be signed between BTRC and the operators for the licence renewal.
He said that the 2G licences were being renewed as recommended by the government and the operators would have to pay the second instalment of fees and charges as per law.
Upon receiving a letter from the Post and Telecommunications Ministry, the telecom regulator on Aug 1 invited four mobile companies to renew their licences on Tuesday.
The ministry in its letter asked BTRC to issue licences to the operators within a week after settling issues with the operators, and sign a tripartite agreement with the National Board of Revenue (NBR) and the operators.
The BTRC chief on Aug 2 said that they were reviewing the draft of the agreement and the final decision on it would be taken after the review.
However, a senior BTRC official told bdnews24.com that the Commission would not proceed with the proposed agreement to avoid legal complexities in the licence renewal.
On July 26 this year, Finance Minister A M A Abdul Muhith, after a meeting with representatives from mobile-phone operators, BTRC and NBR, had said that 2G licences would be renewed by August. He also said that both parties were asked to withdraw from legal battle before the licences were renewed.
BTRC is currently screening the draft of 12 conditions discussed with the minister to reach a consensus with the mobile phone operators.
After a stand-off with BTRC for more than nine months, the telecom regulator on Thursday sent letters to the four mobile phone operators asking them to send their representatives to get their 2G licences renewed on Aug 7 for the next 15 years, as recommended by the telecom ministry.
On Sept 11 last year, the watchdog had published final guidelines on renewing the licences, two months before 2G licences of the four operators expired.
BTRC was supposed to renew the licences by Nov 10, but it did not, and the operators took the issue to the High Court which is yet to give its ruling on the matter.
In November last year, the four operators had deposited the first instalment of their renewal and frequency allocation fee. The second instalment was supposed to be paid by Aug 1, but the telecom regulator has extended the deadline by a month.
The four operators are paying Tk 75.63 billion for the renewal.
According to BTRC, over 90 million people are currently using mobile phone across the country.
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