Army-Backed ATCL Secures Telecom Infrastructure Sharing Licence

A major transformation is set to take place in Bangladesh’s telecom infrastructure sector. A company operated by the Bangladesh Army is being brought into the construction and management of critical technical infrastructure, including mobile network towers and fiber-optic networks. Alongside private operator Bangla Phone, Army Transmission Company Limited (ATCL), a concern of the Army Welfare Trust, has become the second entity under the new licensing framework to receive a “Telecommunication Infrastructure Sharing” licence in addition to the existing six service providers.

Sources confirmed that the approval was granted by the ministry following an application submitted to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC). At the same time, BCC, Mango Teleservice, and Vion Group had also applied for the licence. However, ATCL was selected for final approval.

According to relevant sources, the licence was awarded to the army-backed company considering issues of national security and strategic importance. The information emerged from a high-level meeting of the BTRC. Under the current telecom policy framework, the state-run organisation will now be able to operate on a large scale alongside private tower operators.

It has been learned that through this licence, the company will be able to provide tower-sharing facilities to mobile operators, which is expected to play a significant role in expanding network coverage in remote and border areas of the country. Stakeholders believe that leveraging the expertise of the Army’s skilled engineers and technical capabilities will further improve the quality of telecommunication services.

Sources at the BTRC said the licence was approved in compliance with all legal and policy requirements. They also indicated that the inclusion of the new entity aims to prevent monopolistic dominance in the infrastructure sector and ensure a competitive market environment.

DBTech/TDS/EK/OR