Page 103 - SAMENA Trends - October 2019

REGULATORY & POLICY UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

Bangladesh Pushes to Resolve Operator Tax Dispute

Bangladesh’s telecoms regulator, after yet-to-be-determined deposits, which collect the fees. This week, GSMA director
intervention by the Prime Minister’s are being negotiated. Sources told Mobile general Mats Granryd urged ICT Affairs
ICT adviser, agreed to set up a special World Live (MWL) all parties also may sign Adviser Sajeeb Ahmed Wazeb to press
committee to examine tax claims, its an MOU. The committee will comprise the government to “seek to ensure BTRC
latest move to resolve a long-running representatives from the operators, BTRC, is able to reconsider its stance on this
dispute with the country’s two largest National Board of Revenue (NBR), Telecom matter”, after the government detailed
mobile operators. Following a meeting Ministry and Finance Ministry. It has a plans to appoint administrators at both
with Grameenphone and Robi Axiata, target of releasing a report within three operators to recover the unpaid taxes. The
the Bangladesh Telecommunication months. Following an audit started in 2017 parties appeared to be moving towards
Regulatory Commission (BTRC) also said of the companies’ finances dating back a settlement last month, but it seems
it would lift show-cause notices issued to 1996, the BTRC claims the operators operators were unable to halt legal action,
in early September, requiring operators owe a combined BDT135 billion ($1.6 which was a condition of any resolution.
to explain why they should keep their billion): BDT126 billion for Grameenphone Grameenphone stated it continued
licenses despite failing to make payments. and BDT8.67 billion for Robi Axiata. Both to engage with authorities to reach a
This is due to happen after they make sought injunctions against orders to transparent and amicable resolution.

UK Operators Forge £1B Rural Coverage Deal

The UK government accepted a proposal by operators to pool
resources to address 4G coverage gaps in rural areas, in a deal
worth more than £1 billion designed to deliver access to 95 per
cent of the country by 2025. Terms of the plan, which foresees
extending coverage to 280,000 additional premises and 16,000km
of roads in the countryside, are not yet finalized, with a formal
agreement expected early in 2020. Stated as a world-first in the
industry, the deal would result in all four operators investing in a
shared network of new and existing masts to “close almost all
partial not-spots, areas where there is currently only coverage
from at least one, but not all, operators”. The plan outlines an
investment of £530 million by EE, O2 UK, 3 UK and Vodafone UK,
with the government committing up to £500 million to ensure
the agreement also includes areas currently not covered by any
operator. As part of the deal, the UK government would also allow
operators to access infrastructure built as part of an Emergency far fewer masts”. Telefonica UK (O2) chief Mark Evans, described
Services Network deployment, which would deliver up to an the deal as a “step-change in the way that mobile coverage is
additional 2 per cent of geographic coverage per operator in rural delivered”, adding the proposal is “the most ambitious solution”
locations. Officials expect the greatest coverage improvements of a number of options considered. David Dyson, CEO of 3 UK,
to be felt in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. “Brokering an said 9.3 million people stood to benefit from the deal which, in
agreement for mast sharing between networks alongside new addition to boosting coverage, would provide rural consumers
investment in mobile infrastructure will mean people get good 4G with “a similar choice as those living in towns and cities”. And
signal no matter where they are or which provider they’re with”, UK Marc Allera, CEO of BT’s Consumer division, said the plan would
digital secretary Nicky Morgan said. Vodafone UK CEO Nick Jeffery remove “the key barriers to tackling the tricky not-spot problem,
said by working together, operators “will deliver better coverage ensuring people and businesses right across the UK get access to
while offering more choice for consumers and businesses, using the digital connectivity they need”.

Hong Kong Prepares for Latest 5G Sale

Hong Kong’s Office of the Communications Authority (OFCA) has confirmed that the four incumbent cellcos have qualified to bid in its
latest 5G spectrum auction. Following on from sales of 3.5GHz and 4.9GHz licenses, the territory is now offering 100MHz of spectrum
in the 3.3GHz band. China Mobile Hong Kong (CMHK), HKT, Hutchison 3 and SmarTone will all compete for licenses. All four firms won
3.5GHz concessions, while only CMHK and HKT bid for 4.9GHz permits.

103 OCTOBER 2019