According to the proposal, the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) is going to allocate a total of 40 MHz spectrum at the rate of Tk 58 crore to the two mobile operators with the highest number of subscribers in the 2.6 GHz band. Among them, Grameenphone (GP) is getting 20 MHz and Robi is getting 20 MHz. As such, both the operators will have to pay Tk 1,160 crore to buy new spectrum. And through this, the revenue of BTRC will be Tk 2 thousand 320 crores.
BTRC Chairman Engineer Md Mohiuddin Ahmed confirmed the allocation of these additional spectrum to increase the service quality of the two operators. He said that the country’s revenue will increase by selling these spectrum as per the 2022 spectrum auction guidelines, which are awaiting the approval of the Department of Posts and Telecommunications. Initially, this spectrum will be allocated for 15 years. After the allotment made, after initial payment of 10 percent, the remaining amount can be paid in 9 equal installments up to 18 February 2033.
However, the annual spectrum price does not have to be paid in the first year. From the second year onwards, payment has to be made as per the rules.
Earlier in the spectrum auction held on March 31, 2022, Grameenphone and Robi had bought 60 MHz each in the 2.6 GHz band. After that, both operators applied to BTRC for more spectrum. But due to the dollar crisis, they stipulated money instead of dollars in terms of payment.
It is wort noting that, on March 31, 2022, the dollar value was 86.14 taka. As such, the operators bought each megahertz wave at 6.5 million dollars. After discussing the proposal to buy in Taka instead of dollars, BTRC finalized the price of each megahertz wave at Taka 58 crore.
