Bangladesh regulator proposes coverage study and lower spectrum prices

Details: Vaughan O'Grady; Category: Regulation; 21 October 2026; 644 views

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has announced plans for a study to identify and serve remote, hard-to-reach, underserved and disaster-prone areas where telecom services are inadequate or of poor quality.

A report by the Daily Star news service says the telecom regulator has given in-principle approval to the proposed research and decided to form a committee to prepare a detailed research proposal within one month for submission to the BTRC chairman.

The study will identify areas with inadequate telecom coverage and assess local connectivity needs, while exploring possible approaches to ensure quality services in places where expanding mobile networks may not be commercially viable.

This news comes as BTRC has also proposed cutting spectrum prices by 10% to 30% for the renewal of airwaves held by the country’s three mobile operators.

The proposal covers 79.2 megahertz of spectrum held by Grameenphone (32.4MHz), Banglalink (24.4MHz) and Robi (22.4MHz) across the 900MHz, 1800MHz and 2100MHz bands. The operators’ current spectrum licences expire on 10 November. A renewal would run until 10 March 2039.

The proposed new prices follow the finding of a dedicated study to assess spectrum prices taking into account cash flows, tower-building costs operators could avoid by holding more spectrum, and international spectrum prices, along with economic benefits beyond government revenue. The proposal is awaiting final government approval.

This follows news reported here earlier this month that BTRC has proposed a base price for two blocks of lower-band spectrum it plans to auction off before the end of the year to help telcos expand network coverage and improve indoor connectivity.