The government will prepare guidelines for tower business in telecom sector keeping in mind the cost efficiency of operators that build and maintain towers separately and that will ultimately benefit end users.
State Minister for Posts and Telecommunications Tarana Halim said this at a seminar on “The Prospect of Tower Business in Bangladesh” organised by a Telecom Reporters Network, Bangladesh (TRNB) at Westin Hotel in the capital.
“Uncontrolled telecom towers harm environment…….We will consider level playing field to allow new player for tower business, but up gradation of network would also be considered during making policy,” Tarana said in her address as the chief guest.
TIM Nurul Kabir, secretary general, Association of Mobile Telecom Operator Association of Bangladesh (AMTOB), Abu Saeed Khan, senior fellow policy of LIRNEAsia, Taimur Rahman, senior director of GR and Regulation of Banglalink, and Moynul Haque Siddiqui, managing director of Fiber@home, attended the seminar.
Telecom Reporters’ Network Bangladesh (TRNB) president Rased Mehdi moderated the seminar while its general secretary Shamim Ahmed presented the keynote paper.
The state minister said the upcoming policy on tower business would ensure foreign direct investment.
“We would create competitiveness in tower business…Monopoly business would be discouraged through ensuring level playing field in the sector.”
She said the government would also consider ensuring lower tower through sharing cost so that consumers can get benefit of it.
At the seminar, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission Chairman Dr Shahjahan Mahmood said BTRC encourage investment in telecom sector.
He said the commission would provide tower sharing licences in an open tender.
“A total of 36,000 mobile towers have so far been installed whereas it would require only 24,000 towers. This is due to lack of tower sharing, but the quality of service is very poor,” Shahjahan said.
Tower would be increased after introduction of 4G, he added.
The BTRC chair expressed his dissatisfaction over installation of five towers on the roof of BIRDEM Hospital building in Shahbag due to lack of sharing attitude.
Shahjahan said they would form a new company to run tower sharing.
Of the company, BTRC would allow 51% investment from local sources and the rest from foreign direct investment.
Posts and Telecommunications additional sectary Shawkat Mostafa said the government would formulate tower sharing licence guidelines with the consent of shareholders.
According to Mahmud Hossain, chief corporate affairs officer of Grameenphone, qualified firms should be allowed to get licence for tower business.
The existing mobile phone operators’ towers will also be considered in the guidelines, he said.
Shahed Alam, executive vice-president of Robi, echoed the same as Mahmud.
He said experienced companies should be taken into consideration for the tower business, he opined.
BTRC’s System and Services Division Director General Amdad-ul-Bari said mobile operators share only 18% tower among each other.
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Source: http://www.dhakatribune.com/business/2016/may/01/tarana-tower-business-guidelines-offing
