Carriers divided over spectrum allocation top-up amid surge popular
The search for additional spectrum allocation proposal to manage the surge popular for data through the protracted shutdowns has resulted in a faction among the four mobile operators.
Market leader Grameenphone is using one side and the others -- Robi, Banglalink and Teletalk -- are on the other hand.
The three have positioned a proposal to the federal government last week seeking 5 Megahertz spectrum each from the 2 2,100 band -- where 20 MHz of spectrum has been sitting idle for a long time -- free of charge for three months.
This will ensure a win-win proposition for the users, operator and the federal government as well as the service quality will improve, they said.
The operators can recuperate their revenue losses and at the same time, the government's exchequer are certain to get fattened by the excess tax from users.
The government used to obtain additional than 50 per cent of the operators' revenue and can get more from the users' additional consumption, the three operators said.
However, from the onset, Grameenphone opposed the program.
But immediately after Robi, Banglalink and Teletalk had located in their obtain extra spectrum, Grameenphone devote another proposal: it wants extra spectrum and it really wants to pay for it.
The three are actually saying that Grameenphone is flexing its financial muscle: the Telenor subsidiary can afford to cover the spectrum nevertheless they can't.
"They have always tried to help make the spectrum price costlier so that none are able it," said a senior executive of 1 of the three operators requesting anonymity to speak candidly on the problem.
Yesterday in a discussion with a group of journalists, Robi said as a result of lockdown its data traffic has surged more than 25 per cent. It isn't possible to maintain a typical customer experience for all with the spectrum it has.
"There is no option to the allocation of satisfactory amount of spectrum," said Shahed Alam, chief corporate and regulatory officer at Robi.
The operator has long been requesting the government to lessen the price of the spectrum to create it viable for this to purchase the volume of spectrum it requires to gratify its customers' quality expectations.
Subsequently, it had requested additional spectrum at a discounted price to the government and Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission this past year, which continues to be awaiting regulatory approval.
"We need to be aware that the request was made under normal circumstances. However now, with the pandemic set up, we need to treat it differently and with immediate effect to handle the crying need of the clients, who've been compelled to adopt an electronic lifestyle to remain linked to the society," Alam added.
Within a week of acquiring the spectrum, Robi can substantially improve its service quality.
And the government may take back the excess spectrum after the three-month period has ended, Alam added.
The country's second-largest carrier also said that it has reduced the data price in compliance with the government's request and that squeezed its revenue.
However, in a session on Monday, Grameenphone said principally they can not support the free allocation of spectrum because they are contributing to the federal government.
However, the spectrum is an essential component to bettering service quality for just about any operator and Grameenphone will need part in constructive dialogue for acquiring additional spectrum and its own decision on the above would depend on the outcome of the discussions, said Hossain Sadat, the operator's director and head of regulatory affairs.
