Go for technology-neutral spectrum auction

Sigve Brekke

Grameenphone is hoping the upcoming auction for the 1,800-megahertz spectrum band would be technology-neutral, as it would enable the operator, the country's largest, to participate in it.

In the past, the different frequency bands assigned to mobile services had, for technical reasons, each been dedicated to a specific technology (GSM, UMTS, LTE), but recent technical developments have helped lift the constraint.

Moreover, the massive increase in demand for spectrum for mobile telephony, particularly as mobile internet's development accelerates, has made it vital to optimise the use of radio frequencies, and one of the ways to achieve this is by way of technology-neutral spectrum licensing.

“We are strongly arguing that we need to use a lot of spectrum for 3G, 4G and later for 5G, which is coming. We cannot be stuck in a level,” Sigve Brekke, head of Telenor in Asia, the parent group of Grameenphone, said in an interview with a group of reporters on the sidelines of Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the biggest annual gathering of the mobile industry.

But as of now, the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission's stance is that it does not want the spectrum to be technology neutral, he said.

The position prevents Grameenphone's participation in the auction of the 1,800-megahertz spectrum band in April, as only those operators that provide voice services and have spectrum less than 20 MHz in the GSM bands -- 900 MHz and 1,800 MHz -- are eligible to take part.

Grameenphone, which has a 43 percent market share, is the only operator that has more than 20 MHz of spectrum in those bands.

If the entire sellable spectrum of 10.6 MHz remains unsold in the first round of auction, only then can Grameenphone take part.

Terming the condition discriminatory, Brekke, also the chairman of Grameenphone, the biggest company under the Telenor Group umbrella, said it should be left to the operators to decide how they would use the bandwidth.

“In some cases we are using the spectrum for 2G and in other cases for 3G. But you should have 4G in Bangladesh and we need lots of bandwidth to go for the technology.”

He also said the country's telecom policy urgently needs updating, as it is about 16 years old. “The internet is not even included in the policy -- it's about time that it is renewed.”

Besides, the telecom operators cannot continue with their investment plans without the right policy in place, especially when the government is talking about digital Bangladesh.

The country needs to have the right telecom and neutral technology policies, he said, while seeking a solution to the SIM replacement tax issue that has been pending for the last couple of years.

Brekke said Grameenphone's success has led the group to enter five other Asian countries -- India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Thailand and Myanmar.

The Asian region, where 90 percent of the group's subscribers are based, generates half of Telenor Group's revenues.

All in all, Grameenphone, with its 51.5-million customer base, is an extremely important part for Telenor Group.

As a result, the group is planning new types of services for the Bangladesh market such as banking, health and education.

The company is currently discussing with the government to introduce educational services, so that one can get access to schools, professors and universities from his/her mobile phone.

“We also think it will be a big opportunity if we can provide the farmers across Asia with information about crop prices, harvesting information and so on.”

Brekke also touched upon Telenor's current strategy, which is “internet for all”. “Everyone talks about internet but very few talk about internet for all and what we mean by all is literally everyone. That's the strategy in Bangladesh and also in other Asian markets.”

Around 15 percent of Telenor's customers in Asia are using internet and at the end of 2017 the group wants to see the number to rise to 80 percent.

So, out of 51.5 million customers of Grameenphone today, the company would like 40 million of them to be using internet on a daily basis by the end of 2017, he said.

“To do that, we need to roll out data network strategy and we are discussing with the government of Bangladesh to give us 4G network in the country,” he said, adding that the operator also needs to raise awareness about internet.

About mobile financial services, he said they would like to have most of their customers have banking relations, transactional services, bill payments, lending and saving from their mobile phones.

Asked if they would be competing with financial institutions, he said: “We are not competitors of the banks. I'm not going to go after the banks' customers. We will only deal with those who do not have banks accounts -- we will not deal with existing banking customers.”

Ideally, he said, they will look for having own banking licences, an exercise that is allowed in Bangladesh's three neighbouring countries -- India, Pakistan and Myanmar.

“If that's not possible, we will provide the service by tying up with banks,” he said, adding that they will continue discussions with the central bank to get their own banking licence.

Grameenphone also wants to bring all its customers under insurance coverage -- health, death, accidental and hospital insurance packages.

“We have signed two partnerships -- one with a global company and another with a local insurance one. If one customer gives a certain amount of money, he or she will be given the insurance facility.”

Asked if the ongoing political crisis in Bangladesh has had any impact on Grameenphone's revenues, he replied in the affirmative. “But it's not too significant.”

“We are long-term investors and we are looking at the fundamentals of your country such as young people and the low mobile penetration. The most important thing for us is the regulatory environment.”