The mobile operators were given a boost ahead of their planned 4G rollout after the government decided to slash the licence fee and other charges along with loosening other terms and conditions.
In its draft 4G licensing guideline, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission had earlier recommended Tk 15 crore as the licence acquisition fee and Tk 7.5 crore as the annual licence fee.
But in a meeting on July 18 with the Prime Minister's ICT Affairs Adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy, it was decided that the licence acquisition fee will be slashed to Tk 10 crore and the annual fee to Tk 5 crore.
The meeting also decided to lift the restriction on the source of funding: the telecom watchdog had earlier recommended making it mandatory to ensure all investment was in foreign currency.
The mobile operators have urged the telecom regulator not to impose any restriction on their funding sources for 4G rollout as it would put them in a disadvantageous position compared with other industries.
The latest decision means the operators will be able to take loans from local banks, which, in turn, would help in finding a productive use for the large heaps of unutilised funds in the banking sector.
The spectrum conversion fee for technology neutrality in the existing 900 and 1,800 bands will also be brought down to $7.5 million per megahertz from $10 million.
Technology neutrality allows the operators to offer either of 2G, 3G or 4G services from any band as they see fit, a facility that helps in reducing the operational costs and improving the service quality.
At present, market leader Grameenphone is using 14.6 MHz of spectrum in the 1,800 band and 7.4 MHz in the 900 band.
Robi has a total of 26.4 MHz of spectrum, Banglalink 15 MHz and state-owned Teletalk 15.2 MHz in the two bands.
The operators will also have to retain the mobile subscribers' usage data for 12 years, it was decided at the meeting.
The BTRC had earlier proposed Tk 150 crore as bank performance guarantee, of which Tk 75 crore will be for rollout obligation and Tk 75 crore to clear future dues, if any. It was decided that for rollout obligation Tk 150 crore can be sought, but there is no need to keep any sum to clear future dues.
Under the rollout obligation, the operators will have to extend 4G service in all divisional headquarters within nine months of getting the licence.
They are also bound to roll out the service in district headquarters within 18 months and all over the country within three years of acquiring the licence, according to the guideline.
The telecom division has made the changes and has already forwarded the guideline to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who also heads the telecom ministry, for her nod.
“Hopefully, we will be able to award the licence by mid September,” said Tarana Halim, state minister for telecom.
The telecom regulator had earlier amended another one of its recommendations following Joy's advice: it brought down the operators' revenue sharing portion with the BTRC from 4G service to 5.5 percent from 15 percent.
However, the meeting did not mention anything about the spectrum charges for the upcoming auction, which is the mobile operators' main concern.
The BTRC has proposed $27 million, $30 million and $35 million for each MHz in three different bands.
The operators though are calling for $15 million for each MHz in all three bands.
Currently, 4G service is available in all the neighbouring countries.
As of February, there are more than 7 crore mobile internet users in Bangladesh, 3.5 crore of which use 3G service.