2012 likely to witness Bangladesh 3G licenses offering

Teletalk, the state-owned mobile network has been allowed a six-month headstart over the private networks, which could pave the way for the 3G license auction taking place next year even though, the procedure has been apparently, long delayed.
According to the telecoms minister Raziuddin Ahmed Razu, the state-owned telco would be issued a 3G license by the end of this year, at least six months ahead of other networks so that the telco is allowed exclusivity for the same period before the other networks can launch their services.
In hindsight, the regulator has made several promises over the past few years that the 3G licenses would be sold off “shortly” but failing to deliver on the promises.
Meanwhile, Abu Saeed Khan, secretary general of Association of Mobile Telephone Operators in Bangladesh (AMTOB) stated that with 3G services being made available in the older GSM spectrum bands, it makes no sense to keep to a specific frequency block for 3G services in Bangladesh.
On the other hand, the prime minister’s press secretary Abul Kalam Azad revealed that VoIP licenses could also be issued, in addition to setting social obligation fees of one percent for mobile operators based on their annual revenue.