Banglalink awarded 3G licence

Banglalink, the second leading mobile operator in the country in terms of subscribers, was finally awarded a 3G license on Thursday evening after paying the remaining amount of their spectrum fee, Dhaka Tribune reports.

Earlier, the mobile operator failed to get the 3G license as they could not pay the full amount of the Tk5.25bn spectrum fee.

They managed to pay Tk3.22bn and were given the No Objection Certificate (NOC) to allow importation of the 3G equipment.

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) acting chairman Md Giashuddin Ahmed handed over the license soon after the Banglalink authorities paid the remaining Tk2.03bn of the spectrum fee.

Banglalink Senior Director (regulatory & legal affairs) Zakiul Islam received the license.

Earlier, on September 12, the BTRC issued 3G mobile service licenses and NOCs for the importing of equipment to three other mobile phone operators.

Grameenphone, the leader in Bangladesh's mobile market, and Robi both made full payments on Monday and Tuesday according to the guidelines, while Airtel paid Tk5.25bn immediately after the licensing award ceremony.