The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) announced it will hold an open auction on September 3, 2012, to issue 3G mobile service licences to five operators, including state-owned Teletalk, one foreign operator, and three private companies. The regulator aims to raise $1.5 billion in spectrum fees.
BTRC reserved 50 MHz of spectrum for 3G services, allocating 10 MHz to each operator, with a base price of $30 million per MHz. Licence holders must also provide a bank guarantee of Tk 1.5 billion, pay Tk 100 million in licence fees, and submit application fees of Tk 0.5 million. Additional fees include Tk 50 million for licence renewal, a 5.5% revenue share, and a 1% social obligation fee.
Expressions of Interest will be invited starting May 7, with formal applications accepted from July 12. The final list of bidders will be announced on July 19, and the auction will proceed on September 3, provided at least two participants register.
BTRC highlighted that 3G technology will significantly advance Bangladesh’s telecom sector by enabling faster internet speeds, video calls, and multimedia downloads. The guideline also supports future adoption of 4G and LTE technologies without requiring new spectrum.
