BTRC to audit mobile operators (Bangladesh)
The Bangladesh telecommunications regulator, BTRC is planning to audit mobile operators and has already appointed two firms for the project.
As per BTRC official, the first two operators to be scrutinized by the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) are Grameenphone and Banglalink.
The move comes as the operators, along with Roby and Citycell, have to renew their licences this year. According to Grameenphone’s Chief Corporate Officer, the company has no problems with the audit as it complies with the laws. Zakiul Islam, director of Banglalink, also welcomed the regulator’s move.
BTRC puts different spectrum utilization fee for operators (Bangladesh)
If reports are to be believed, the new 2G spectrum licence proposal from the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has baffled the operators.
According to the draft 2G licence renewal guideline, radio spectrum prices per Megahertz (MHz) are set at Tk 300 crore for the 900 MHz band, Tk 150 crore for the 1,800 MHz band of GSM technology, and Tk 150 crore for the 850 MHz band of CDMA technology.
However, the spectrum utilization charges differ per operator based on their subscriber bases. According to the draft, Grameenphone would have to pay BDT 55.04 in spectrum fees, followed by Robi which would pay BDT 30 billion, Banglalink which would pay BDT 29.94 billion, and Citycell would pay BDT 6.20 billion. The licence renewal fee for 15 years would be BDT 100 million.
Grameenphone chief corporate officer, Mahmud Hossain called the different spectrum utilization fees discriminatory and unfair. Furthermore, the government has failed to explain the exact method of calculation of the utilization fees.
Bangladesh ends February with 71.5 mn mobile subscribers
The new figures from the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) have revealed that the total number of mobile phone subscribers in Bangladesh grew to 71.51 million in February from 70.34 million in January.
Mobile operator GrameenPhone led the market with 31.14 million customers, up from 30.43 million a month earlier. Banglalink (Orascom Telecom Bangladesh) followed with 20.18 million customers, an increase from 20.04 million, while Robi (Axiata Bangladesh) ended February with 12.81 million customers, which grew from 12.63 million a month earlier.
Airtel Bangladesh saw its customer base grow to 4.37 million from 4.18 million, while Citycell’s (PBTL) subscriber base grew to 1.79 million from 1.86 million in the prior month. Teletalk’s subscriber base rose to 1.22 million from to 1.20 million in January.
Bangladesh plans network license renewal
Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has submitted its draft plan for the renewal of the mobile operating licenses for the country’s four largest mobile networks, Grameenphone, Banglalink, Robi and Citycell. The networks current licenses are going to expire in November 2011.
However, according to sources, the BTRC did not consult with the mobile operators during preparation of the draft policy, though the ministry stated that it would finalize the policy after discussing with operators.
Warid & Citycell ink infrastructure sharing deal (Bangladesh)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: An infrastructure sharing agreement has been signed between Bangladeshi mobile operators Warid and Citycell. Base stations, towers, poles, transmitter equipment, bandwidth and power will be shared between Pacific Bangladesh Telecom, or Citycell and Warid under the terms of the agreements.
A similar infrastructure sharing deal was inked between Grameenphone, Banglalink and Robi (formerly Aktel) earlier this year.
An infrastructure sharing guideline issued by the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) in September 2008 are taken into consideration by the operator while signing the deal.
GrameenPhone sees Bangladesh mobile users tripling
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Bangladesh mobile operator GrameenPhone Ltd, majority-owned by Norway’s Telenor, expects the total number of mobile phone users in the country to triple by 2009, CEO Erik Aas told Reuters on Tuesday.
GrameenPhone, the top cell phone operator in the South Asian country, was founded in 1996 in close cooperation between Telenor and Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus.
“I believe at least, that within three years (Bangladesh) will triple the number of subscribers to 45-50 million users, or about 30 percent penetration,” Aas said in an interview on the sidelines of a conference in Singapore.
“Subscribers have doubled every year for the last five years, but I don’t estimate it to double continuously. Of course, (average revenues per users (ARPU) will also go up.”
With a mobile penetration rate of around 10 percent and a population of roughly 147 million population, Bangladesh remains one of Asia’s fastest growing cellular markets.
Asia-focused Telenor controls GrameenPhone with a 62 percent share, while Grameen Telecom, a not-for-profit company that works in close collaboration with microcredit pioneer Grameen Bank, owns the rest.
NEW COMPETITION
GrameenPhone has about 9.5 million users in Bangladesh, a 62 percent market share, but Aas says he sees that number settling to about 50-55 percent in the next year as a sixth operator enters the market.
“There’s going to be tough competition, but we also have a good advantage – we have the best network, and we have data services,” he said.
“I can still imagine keeping a very, very good market share; whether 62 percent — that remains to be seen, but we should be able to keep a very premium position.”
GrameenPhone competes with Aktel, majority owned by Telekom Malaysia’s International unit, Egyptian Orascom Telecom’s Banglalink, CityCell, a venture between Singapore Telecommunications and Pacific Bangladesh Telecom and state-run Teletalk.
Warid Telecom International (LLC) of the United Arab Emirates, is set to start its operation in Bangladesh soon.
GrameenPhone is still a private firm and Aas declined to say if there are plans afoot to take the firm public.
“You can imagine GrameenPhone being on the stock exchange in Bangladesh would have a huge impact,” he said.
“We have to see what the shareholders decide. But it’s no secret that the government would like us to do it, for many reasons — like strengthening the capital market.”
In Telenor’s second quarter, GrameenPhone was the Norwegian firm’s biggest contributor to subscriber growth, adding 2 million users. As at its second-quarter, Telenor had 96 million mobile subscribers around the world.
GrameenPhone posted about $150 million in revenues in the second quarter, Aas said, but declined to provide forecasts.
Source- http://in.today.reuters.com
