They warned that high spectrum costs could ultimately constrain investment in network coverage, capacity, resilience and service quality at a time when data consumption is rising rapidly.
Mobile telecom industry leaders speak at a press conference organised by the Association of Mobile Telecom Operators of Bangladesh (AMTOB) at its Banani office in Dhaka today (4 November). Photo: TBS.
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Mobile telecom industry leaders speak at a press conference organised by the Association of Mobile Telecom Operators of Bangladesh (AMTOB) at its Banani office in Dhaka today (4 November). Photo: TBS.
Mobile telecom operators have urged the government to lower spectrum renewal costs and introduce more flexible payment terms, warning that high prices are limiting their capacity to invest in network expansion, service quality and nationwide connectivity.
The industry leaders made the call at a press conference organised by the Association of Mobile Telecom Operators of Bangladesh (AMTOB) at its Banani office in Dhaka today (4 November), ahead of the upcoming spectrum renewal.
They acknowledged the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission’s (BTRC) engagement with operators but said the proposed valuation remained significantly higher than international and Asia-Pacific benchmarks relative to industry revenues.
Lt Col (retd) Mohammad Zulfikar, secretary general of AMTOB, moderated the event. Taimur Rahman, chief corporate and regulatory affairs officer of Banglalink; Tanveer Mohammad, chief corporate affairs officer of Grameenphone; and Shahed Alam, chief corporate and regulatory officer of Robi Axiata, also spoke at the press conference.
The operators said spectrum costs in Bangladesh accounted for a much larger share of industry revenues than global and regional averages, adding to the pressure on a sector already facing stagnant revenues, sluggish average revenue per user (ARPU) growth and rising operating expenses.
They warned that high spectrum costs could ultimately constrain investment in network coverage, capacity, resilience and service quality, particularly as data consumption continues to rise rapidly.
“Spectrum pricing must reflect today’s realities, with significantly lower unit prices to enable continued investment in spectrum acquisition, network expansion and service quality,” said Taimur Rahman of Banglalink.
He said the government should look beyond immediate revenue from spectrum sales and recognise affordable spectrum’s role in accelerating digital transformation, economic growth, and long-term national development.
Rethinking long-term licence pricing
Grameenphone’s Tanveer Mohammad said the proposed fees for a 20-year licence appeared to have been calculated by proportionately scaling up the price of a standard renewal period.
“A 20-year spectrum licence should not simply be priced by proportionately scaling the value of a 15-year licence,” he said, arguing that the economic value of additional years declined because of technological changes, shifting market demand and investment risks.
He urged the regulator to adopt a more rational valuation methodology and introduce flexible payment terms, stressing that spectrum renewal should be viewed as an investment in the country’s digital future rather than merely a source of government revenue.
Robi’s Shahed Alam also called for assessing spectrum affordability against operators’ revenues, investment capacity, and network expansion requirements.
He said a balanced and investment-friendly pricing framework would enable operators to improve service quality, expand connectivity and accelerate digital inclusion.
The operators welcomed the proposed extension of spectrum licence tenure, saying it could provide greater certainty for long-term investment planning. However, they stressed that longer licence periods would deliver meaningful benefits only if the overall commercial terms remained affordable.
They also called for future spectrum requirements to be determined by data traffic growth, network capacity and efficiency rather than solely by the volume of spectrum allocated in megahertz.
The industry urged the government to consider operators’ revenue trends, ARPU growth, future investment requirements and international benchmarks when finalising renewal charges.
They said a more balanced pricing framework would help sustain investment, improve network quality and ensure affordable services and wider digital connectivity.
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