Bangladesh’s long-awaited 3G auction has finally closed, allowing the government to raise US$525m.
Four local operators – Grameenphone, Robi Axiata, Airtel Bangladesh, and Banglalink – were awarded spectrum in the 2.1 GHz band, according to a…
Bangladesh’s long-awaited 3G auction has finally closed, allowing the government to raise US$525m.
Four local operators – Grameenphone, Robi Axiata, Airtel Bangladesh, and Banglalink – were awarded spectrum in the 2.1 GHz band, according to a Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) notice.
The country’s largest player, Telenor’s Grameenphone, won two blocks of 5 MHz for US$210m. The other three companies received one block each for US$105m.
Teletalk, the only state-owned operator, will also reportedly be attributed a 15-year 3G licence for US$210m but without formal bidding. Since October last year, the company has been offering 3G services without a licence on a trial basis.
However, Bangladesh’s smallest operator Citycell failed to secure frequencies after being quoted telling the regulator it could not afford the US$20m deposit because of financial issues.
An additional licence had been reserved for a new entrant but despite the regulator’s efforts to open the Bangladeshi mobile market, no foreign operator applied for frequencies by the 12 August deadline. It remains unclear whether this licence will be auctioned at a later point.
First scheduled in June 2012, the 3G auction was postponed several times because of regulatory and legal issues. Local reports suggest that the government was expecting a bidding war in the auction to raise over US$1bn but that investors have been deterred by ongoing tax disputes and regulatory uncertainty.
