Bangladesh’s 3G licence auction delayed till March 2009

Bangladesh’s regulator has deferred the auction of 3G licences to March 2009 – at the time when WiMAX will be ready to launch in the country – having earlier promised to offer the licences by the end of this year.

Internet usage has been setback in Bangladesh due to only 1.32 million fixed lines, yet there are 154 million people. It is hoped 3G and WiMAX will bridge the digital divide through easy access to mobile broadband services

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) said it would issue licences to use the 2,100 MHz spectrum band, following the GSM Association (GSMA) last month urging the country to issue the licences to make broadband services more widely available.

At the launch of a trial 3G network by Ericsson in August, the BTRC’s chairman Manzurul Alam estimated the value of the combined licences at US$200 million.

It has been questioned whether 3G or WiMAX will be the most effective technology to plug into Bangladesh’s untapped mobile broadband market, however, Alam believes that 3G will spread much faster than any other broadband technology. Three operators recently acquired WiMAX licences – Augere Wireless Broadband, BDMail Network and BanglaLion – and are required to launch services by March 2009.

At the end of October there were almost 43.5 million mobile subscribers in Bangladesh, and this number is forecast to grow to 70 million by 2011. However, mobile ownership contrasts strongly with the 1.32 million fixed-lines in the country, which has significantly hampered the access and growth of Internet services.

There are six mobile carriers in Bangladesh, with the market led by Telenor’s Grameenphone, which counts 20.79 million subscribers, followed by Orascom’s Banglalink and AKTEL, which is controlled by Telekom Malaysia International.