NEW DELHI, India-Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) Chairman Syed Marghub Murshed has ruled out issuing new licenses for private mobile-phone operators, as well as tariff revisions until a comprehensive study is conducted on the use of existing spectrum.
An earlier plan to issue new licenses has been postponed until April 2003, due to limitations in frequencies, Murshed was quoted as saying during a seminar in Dhaka, Bangladesh, this week. “We hope our consultants will complete the study by September next year,” he said.
Referring to the entry of the state-owned fixed-line operator Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board (BTTB) into mobile telephony next year, he said BTRC would ensure there is no cross-subsidization. “We have recommended that BTTB be transformed into a holding company, and mobile-phone operation of the BTTB should be segregated and run as a separate entity.”
