Dhaka: Showing affirmatory feeling towards the merger of Robi and Airtel, four other cell phone operators have requested the telecom regulator to keep equilibrium between subscribers and spectrum ratio for ensuring steady market competition in Bangladesh.

The four operators made the plea fearing that the merger of the two operators— Robi and Airtel— may create an imbalance in the subscriber and spectrum ratio.  

Talking to BSS, Mahmud Hossain, head of Corporate Affairs at Grameenphone, said they have just requested the regulator for fair and justified distribution of spectrum.  

‘We've no reservation about the merger, we just want a level-playing field for a competitive market,’ he added.

Now, the market leader Grameenphone owns a total of 32MHz spectrum with 42.3 per cent market share while Banglalink has 20MHz spectrum with 24.7 per cent market share, Robi is serving 21.4 per cent customers with 19.8MHz spectrum and Airtel has 20MHz spectrum owning 7.6 per cent market share.

The lone CDMA operator Citycell has a 2 per cent market share and lone state-owned operator Teletalk is serving 3.1 per cent customers through 25.2MHz spectrum.

After the merger, in combine Robi and Airtel would own a total of 39.8MHz spectrum while their market share would stand at 29 per cent.  

As part of the amalgamation of Robi and Airtel, the regulator— Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC)— on Monday sat with the four operators— Grameenphone, Banglalink, Citycell and lone state-owned operator Teletalk to hear their opinions.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Banglalink Erik Aas, Managing Director of Teletalk Gias Uddin Ahmed, Head of Corporate Affairs of Grameenphone Mahmud Hossain and a Citycell representative were present at the meeting.  

Moreover, the telecom regulator is going to hold a public hearing over the merger of Robi and Airtel on 17 February where government, semi-government, autonomous organizations, telecommunication service providing firms, cell phone users, Bangladesh Consumer Association and related professionals as well as any person could take part.  

Speaking about the issue, BTRC Chairman Shahjahan Mahmood said the other operators have expressed affirmative opinions about the merger, saying that it would bring a positive result for the customers.

Terming the merger as a ‘complex process’, the BTRC chief said: ‘Some technical issues are involved in the process and spectrum is one of them.’  

An official of the telecom regulator told BSS that the four operators wanted to know whether the auction of unused 2G and 3G spectrums would take place before or after the merger.  

BTRC informed the operators that both the process would go simultaneously.

Robi and Airtel on 28 January signed an agreement to merge their operations that will make the combined entity the second largest mobile phone operator in Bangladesh.  

The agreement follows the 9 September 2015, announcement of both the parties on entering into an exclusive discussion to explore possibilities of combining their business operations in Bangladesh.  

The merger is now awaiting approval from Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission.