Grameenphone is not thinking about 3G licence until its 2G licence is renewed.
"It is not that we are not interested in 3G but 2G is our first priority," Grameenphone CEO Tore Johnsen told a media conference at the Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka on Tuesday.
Grameenphone organised the conference to publish the financial statement of the first quarter of 2012.
"As long as we don't have our 2G licence renewed, we cannot think about 3G," he explained.
The mobile-phone operator has been working without any 2G licence for six months, he said.
It is having no effect on the customers, he said. But the operator wanted to settle the issue soon, he added.
2G licences of four mobile-phone operators, including Grameenphone, expired in November last year. Even the High Court had been moved over a feud between the operators and Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (BTRC) on the licensing issue, which is yet to be settled.
Johnsen welcomed the government's move to give 3G licences. He hoped that the licences would be reasonably priced and awarded through a transparent process.
The BTRC had submitted draft guideline on 3G licence to the telecommunications ministry on Mar 28. An auction will be held on Sep 3 to sell the licences.
About renewal of 2G licence, Johnsen said the High Court had directed Grameenphone to add 15 percent VAT to the BTRC dues and pay an additional 15 percent VAT to the National Board of Revenue (NBR). The court had also allowed Grameenphone to obtain rebate on this VAT, thereby, limiting Grameenphone's total license renewal cost to 100 percent, he added.
As the proposed rebate mechanism does not seem workable under present VAT scheme, Johnsen said, Grameenphone filed a petition with the Appellate Division seeking clarification on VAT deduction mechanism related to 2G licence renewal fees, particularly for the rebate on the 15 percent VAT amount payable to the NBR.
The hearing at the court is yet to be scheduled, he added.
The GP chief also observed that the draft guideline of the Value Added Service (VAS) licence made in March was not of international standards.
If operators failed to give VAS, 3G service, which is based on VAS, would not be trade-friendly, he said.
"It is not that we are not interested in 3G but 2G is our first priority," Grameenphone CEO Tore Johnsen told a media conference at the Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka on Tuesday.
Grameenphone organised the conference to publish the financial statement of the first quarter of 2012.
"As long as we don't have our 2G licence renewed, we cannot think about 3G," he explained.
The mobile-phone operator has been working without any 2G licence for six months, he said.
It is having no effect on the customers, he said. But the operator wanted to settle the issue soon, he added.
2G licences of four mobile-phone operators, including Grameenphone, expired in November last year. Even the High Court had been moved over a feud between the operators and Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (BTRC) on the licensing issue, which is yet to be settled.
Johnsen welcomed the government's move to give 3G licences. He hoped that the licences would be reasonably priced and awarded through a transparent process.
The BTRC had submitted draft guideline on 3G licence to the telecommunications ministry on Mar 28. An auction will be held on Sep 3 to sell the licences.
About renewal of 2G licence, Johnsen said the High Court had directed Grameenphone to add 15 percent VAT to the BTRC dues and pay an additional 15 percent VAT to the National Board of Revenue (NBR). The court had also allowed Grameenphone to obtain rebate on this VAT, thereby, limiting Grameenphone's total license renewal cost to 100 percent, he added.
As the proposed rebate mechanism does not seem workable under present VAT scheme, Johnsen said, Grameenphone filed a petition with the Appellate Division seeking clarification on VAT deduction mechanism related to 2G licence renewal fees, particularly for the rebate on the 15 percent VAT amount payable to the NBR.
The hearing at the court is yet to be scheduled, he added.
The GP chief also observed that the draft guideline of the Value Added Service (VAS) licence made in March was not of international standards.
If operators failed to give VAS, 3G service, which is based on VAS, would not be trade-friendly, he said.