The telecommunication companies are now looking forward to extending their services using towers of each other across the country.
Prime Minister’s IT Adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy has endorsed the launch of a service called ‘National Roaming’ that opened the door to the possibility of network sharing among telecom operators in the country.
This move is beneficial for all operators, enabling them to leverage each other’s infrastructure.
Former Post and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar told Bangladesh Post that a tower-sharing agreement was introduced to facilitate the telecom operators in the country.
“As we all know mobile industry is developing and is expensive and tower service is one of them. We introduce such a facility to enable operators to provide their respective services using one single tower.
Following the introduction of this facility, Banglalink and Teletalk have launched the National Roaming Field Trial for the first time in the country. In the first phase, post-paid voice and SMS services will be tested in certain areas. Prepaid services and data will be tested in the next phase.
In 2018, the Tower Sharing Guideline was introduced by the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) to ensure the maximum utilization of infrastructure and resources.
In a recent move, it has been witnessed that, Banglalink has signed an agreement with Summit Towers Limited (STL). As per the agreement, STL will purchase 2012 towers from Banglalink.
Banglalink’s collaboration with Summit Communications in tower sharing significantly improves customer service by optimizing network coverage, especially in remote or underserved areas.
In addition to reducing the capital expenditure required for infrastructure development, it also improves network reliability through shared tower resources as multiple operators can utilize the same towers instead of building separate ones, Towhid Ahmed, head of corporate communications at Banglalink told Bangladesh Post.
Active sharing, a critical concern within Bangladesh’s telecom sector, necessitates immediate policy intervention. The implementation of active sharing not only holds the promise of substantial annual savings in foreign currency but also presents a key solution within the prevailing economic context, added Towhid.
However, industry analysts said, that to get the full potential of National Roaming or Tower Sharing, similar tower operation is a must among the operators. If operators have similar latest tower-sharing facilities then it helps them to spread every nook and corner.
Bangladesh Mobile Phone Consumers’ Association President Mohiuddin Ahmed told Bangladesh Post, “Sharing mobile towers among the operators is undoubtedly profitable and time befitting. If such a plan is executed properly then a new scenario in the telecom sector will be visible soon.”
Source: https://bangladeshpost.net/posts/telecom-cos-to-launch-tower-sharing-network-132528