News Title : Operators to share updates with govt, sit with Tarana Sunday

News Date : 2015-12-03

-Shamim Jahangir
Top officials of Robi Axiata Limited and Airtel Bangladesh Limited will sit with State Minister for Posts and Telecommunications Tarana Halim on next Sunday to provide latest update about their ongoing negotiation on the country’s biggest merger issue. Supun Weerasinghe, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Robi Axiata Limited and PD Sharma, Managing Director of Airtel Bangladesh Limited will provide the update. The government requires the update on the ongoing negotiation of merger as the High Court asked it to explain in four weeks the reason why it should not be directed to assess the market impact of the proposed merger of Robi and Airtel. The court issued the rule following a writ petition claiming that Robi Axiata Limited, Grameenphone and Banglalink will hold 96 percent share of the mobile phone market if the merger gets final shape. Airtel Bangladesh Limited subscriber Nazmus Sakib Al Azam filed the public interest litigation with the HC. About the merger issue, State Minister for Posts and Telecommunications Tarana Halim said they are now preparing to invite a spectrum auction for 1800MHz and 2100MHz bands prior to final settlement on the merger of Robi and Airtel. “The government will invite the 3G and 4G auctions soon,” she also said without disclosing any specific timeframe. Tarana said they won’t oppose the merger if it maintains standard legal procedures and offers fruitful outcomes. Robi CEO recently said they would require 12 months to complete the merger process. However, the Robi Axiata Limited hasn’t proposed any Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) for the employees to Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), which is a major component of the merger process. The BTRC is now conducting an impact analysis on merger including social aspects, spectrum management, customer services and job security with the help of experts from the Business faculty of the University of Dhaka and the Engineering faculty of American International University. Employees of both Airtel and Robi are worried about their jobs as the two leading mobile operators are preparing for a merger, sources said. They are also concerned about the benefits if they face redundancy under a Detailed Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) during the merger.

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