Post and Telecommunication Minister of the previous government, Mustafa Jabbar, had pushed for the introduction of 5G services in the country in December 2023.
For this reason, 5G was launched experimentally through Teletalk in December 2021. 6 places including National Parliament, 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.
There were objections from the operators about launching 5G service at such a fast time. But finally it was not possible to do it before the election because this service cannot be launched without 5G related guidelines.
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 2019.
Finally, the 5G guidelines have been finalized almost two years after the wave auction. Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) recently finalized it. According to the guidelines, mobile operators have to roll out 5G within the next one year.
From the second year, operators will have to build all kinds of 5G service capabilities. Such as smart city, smart home, intelligent transportation system, smart grid and other new applications have to be launched.
Regulatory body BTRC has launched Unified License. As a result, different licenses for 2G, 3G and 4G, which operators had to obtain, will no longer be required.
The 5G wave auction was held in March 2022. In this, four mobile operators bought a total of 190 MHz waves for Tk. 10 thousand crores. In the wave auction, it was said that they will have to launch 5G services within the next 6 months. But it took two years to prepare the guidelines after the wave auction.
At that time, the mobile operators said that it was not the right time financially for them to launch 5G at that moment. They expressed their concern on various issues including high cost of infrastructure construction, difficult to get customers, non-return of investment money because they were still worried about investment in 4G services.
Those associated with the sector said that we have to change the ecosystem at the beginning of 5G. Towers will require a lot of electricity. To deliver 5G to remote areas, the transmission network should be accessible and active sharing issues should be emphasized. Where the networks are needed, how much the customers will benefit from the 5G service or how the demand will be, these issues need to be seriously considered and prepared.
Those concerned said that while 4G has a minimum speed of 7 Mbps, 5G has a speed of 20 Mbps. It will be used in the industry, not at the individual level.
Meanwhile, experts in the telecommunication sector said that an investment of Tk. 20 to 25 thousand crores will be required to launch 5G. It is difficult for operators to take investment risks as the business sector is not finalized.
But in the meantime, operators do 5G test runs. Even 5G is not yet commercially viable in many countries. According to a report by GSMA, the global association of mobile operators, 5G subscribers will reach 200 crores by 2025.