The high-speed 5G service was supposed to be launched in the country next month. Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) had also auctioned airwaves with plans to launch this service in December this year. But everything is uncertain now. Those concerned say that the commercial activities of 5G services will be launched after the elections.
In December 2021, 5G was launched experimentally through Teletalk at 6 places including Jatiyo Sangsad, Secretariat came under this facility. Earlier, in the auction held in March last year, mobile operators bought 190 MHz waves by spending Tk 10 thousand crore.
Currently 3G and 4G services are available in the country. 3G was launched in 2013 and 4G services were launched in 2018. South Korea launched the first 5G service in the world in 2019.
It has been found that even a month before the launch of 5G, the operators have not yet received any related license. It was said that BTRC will issue a unified license for this. And the operators have not yet received this license. So it was not possible to prepare from their side.
Shahed Alam, Chief Corporate and Regulatory Officer of Robi Aziata Limited, told Barta24.com that they are fully prepared to provide fast 5G connectivity. There are no barriers to rolling out 5G, but it requires a lot of investment. A huge amount of software and other equipment has to be imported in foreign currency.
"At the start of 5G, we need to change our ecosystem, the towers will need a lot of power, the transmission network to reach remote areas and active sharing will be important. Where the networks are needed, how much the customers will benefit from the 5G service or how the demand will be, preparations are being taken seriously,' he added.
Those concerned said that while the minimum speed in 4G is 7 Mbps, the speed of 5G is 20 Mbps. It will be used in the industry, not at the individual level. In this case, the government could not finalize the specific sector. And it is not possible for the operators to start working with this service until this sector is finalized.
Experts in the telecommunication sector said that an investment of Tk 20 to 25 thousand crores will be required to launch 5G. No operator took the risk of investment as the business field was not finalized. The operators will finalize the investment plan after getting the unified license.
Although by now all the operators have completed 5G trials in the divisional cities including Dhaka. But Telecom Minister Mustafa Jabbar himself has no concrete explanation for the non-launch of 5G in December. He told the media that they are waiting. Commercial activities of 5G will be launched after the elections.