Grameenphone's letter to BTRC - 'Efficient operators are being punished'

Bangladesh's top mobile phone operator Grameenphone has demanded the withdrawal of restrictions on its Significant Market Power (SMP). The company recently sent a letter to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) in this regard. Grameenphone claims that these restrictions imposed by the BTRC are in conflict with the High Court's verdict and the SMP policy. The company says that these instructions are hindering its business operations, innovation and competition opportunities.

The BTRC issued the SMP regulations under the Telecommunications Regulation Act in 2018. According to the regulations, if a mobile operator has a market share of more than 40 percent in any of these three areas - subscriber base, revenue or spectrum, it is declared an SMP operator. Based on this policy, the BTRC declared Grameenphone an SMP operator in February 2019. After that, several special restrictions were imposed on them.

Among the notable restrictions imposed by the BTRC on Grameenphone after the SMP announcement were: - BTRC approval must be obtained before starting any new service campaign; - 60 days 'lock-in period' for Grameenphone customers in case of changing operator while keeping number (MNP) and 90 days for others; - There is discrimination in interconnection charges between operators - where Grameenphone gets 7 paisa per minute, while others get 10 paisa. Grameenphone challenged these instructions in the High Court, where the High Court directed the BTRC to take a fresh decision in light of Section 9 of the policy.

Grameenphone said that the instructions imposed in June 2020 are a violation of the SMP policy and the High Court's instructions. The company claims that the BTRC has not yet published any detailed market analysis or competition-related report. According to them, Section 9 of the policy states that if the activities of an SMP operator reduce or threaten to reduce market competition, the commission can take action. But the BTRC has issued these restrictions without any analysis.

Grameenphone also mentioned in the letter that they have faced financial losses due to the asymmetric call termination rate (disparity in call charges between different operators) policy. They claim that until March 2025, non-SMP operators have deducted about Tk 6.9 billion, which was due to Grameenphone. Due to this, the government has also lost about Tk 2.76 billion in taxes and VAT.

Grameenphone's Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Tanvir Mohammad said, "We want an SMP policy that maintains proper processes and international standards. The current SMP policy needs to be reviewed so that an environment of fair competition and innovation is ensured for all." He added, “Asymmetric interconnection rates are effectively subsidizing less efficient operators by reducing the income of efficient operators. This is harming the competitive market. This discriminatory charge should be withdrawn until a full market analysis is done.”

On the other hand, the telecommunications sector is undergoing a major transformation recently. After the new policy came into effect, the BTRC said that the guidelines and restrictions related to SMP will be reviewed. A BTRC official said, “There are about 20 types of restrictions under the SMP, out of which three are effective on Grameenphone. A decision will be taken in the future after analyzing their effectiveness and impact on competition in the market.”

Ensuring fair competition and transparent policies in the telecommunications sector has now become imperative. On one hand, the BTRC is playing a regulatory role in maintaining market balance, on the other hand, Grameenphone says that these restrictions are hindering innovation and investment. It remains to be seen what decision the BTRC makes in response to Grameenphone's letter, and what impact it will have on the competitive future of Bangladesh's telecom sector.