News Title : Tender for MNP service likely in November

News Date : 2015-10-12

-Staff Reporter
Tender for launching the mobile number portability (MNP) service is likely to be floated in the first week of November. “A tender will be floated to launch MNP after receiving approval from the Ministry of Finance on service fees. We are expecting to get the ministry’s consent by last week of October and a tender will be floated in the first week of November,” said a BTRC senior official. Earlier, on September 20, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina finalised the draft guidelines for MNP and on October 7, State Minister for Telecom, Tarana Halim, announced that the MNP service will begin in February. “We are trying to start MNP by January. It is hardly likely that it will take till February,” Tarana Halim added at that time. She further said that both local and foreign registered companies would be able to participate in the auction but foreign companies would need a maximum partnership of 51 per cent with local companies. Even owners/ directors/partners/ investors/shareholders of mobile operators with Bangladeshi licence would be considered ineligible for the auction so as to maintain impartiality. Tarana said that they would give importance to companies that have minimum three years’ experience in MNP services. After receiving finance ministry’s approval a company would be awarded MNP licence, who will help the subscribers to switch operator, Tarana said. Yesterday, when asked a senior Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) official said the regulator did not receive any approval letter from the telecom ministry in this regard till yesterday. “We will float tender for MNP service as soon as we receive the ministry’s approval letter,” the official added. For availing the services of different operators, the customers will have to pay a fee of maximum Tk 30. However, once the number is ported, they will have to continue with the new operator for at least 40 days, announced State Minister for Post and Telecommunica-tions Tarana Halim at a press conference at her office in the Secretariat on October 7. “The government is going to introduce MNP to improve quality of services and create fair competition among mobile operators. If subscribers do not get desired services, they will be free to switch to another operator. Thus, operators will have to improve quality of services. None of the operators have objected to MNP. We hope it will create a level playing field among them,” she said. “We hope subscribers will enjoy the service from February or before with a maximum fee of Tk 30,” she added. The minister said the government would provide MNP licence to the operator for 15 years through auction and the annual licence fee would be Tk 20 lakh. MNP operators would provide 5.5 per cent revenue from next year after issuing them licence.

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