Bangladesh Planning Auction of 700 MHz Spectrum

­Bangladesh’s telecoms regulator, the BTRC is reported to be considering the option of opening a tender for radio spectrum in the 700 MHz bands, probably for use by 4G services.

However, the regulator is still struggling with the controversy over renewing GSM licenses, and 3G licenses are still being considered for later this year.

The 700 MHz band will enable service providers to deploy higher-performance mobile broadband services over greater distances than the services they offer today. As a result, the operators will be able to roll out their service network with less equipment or investment for more people, according to analysts.

“We want to make the most out of the in-demand 700 MHz spectrum,” said Zia Ahmed, chairman of the BTRC.

However, a block of 700Mhz spectrum was given away free of charge in 2006 to AlwaysOn Network Bangladesh,a internet service provider.But the segment of the frequency given to AlwaysOn is  at such a location that it is impeding the functionality of the rest of the band.

The BTRC has now asked AlwaysOn to report on how they are using the spectrum, to study the options left to the regulator with regards to the band,

The regulator is now looking at ways of shuffling the spectrum around, or even reclaiming it.