News Title : BTRC waits for Finance Ministrys MNP nod

News Date : 2015-11-06

-Staff Correspondent
National regulatory body Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) is waiting for the nod of Finance Ministry to introduce Mobile Number Portability (MNP). When introduced upon approval, a subscriber using the MNP service would be able to switch to any operator keeping the same phone number intact. Sources concerned said the Telecom Division in the second week of October forwarded the file seeking approval of the Finance Ministry. "We will float tender for MNP service as soon as we receive the Ministry's letter of approval," a senior official of the BTRC said to The Daily Observer on Thursday. A BTRC source said that the tender would be floated after their decision on the fees. The regulator will decide on the tender issue upon arrival of State Minister for Telecom Tarana Halim from abroad. Earlier on September 20, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina finalised draft guidelines for MNP and State Minister for Telecom Tarana Halim on October 7 announced that the MNP service would begin from February. "We're trying to start MNP by December," she told journalists in the last week of September. Both local and foreign registered companies would be able to participate in the MNP auction, but foreign companies would require having a maximum stake of 51 per cent partnership with the local ones. Preference would be given to companies that have minimum three years' of experience in MNP services, the State Minister for Telecom said. To avail the services of different operators, a customer will have to pay a fee of maximum Tk 30 and once the number is ported, s/he will have to continue with the new operator for at least 40 days.

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