The document recommends adopting a unified licensing regime (ULR) in Bangladesh to promote convergence in the telecommunications sector. It analyzes the current individual and class licensing regime (ICLR) and outlines key benefits of transitioning to a ULR, including simplification, technology neutrality, regulatory certainty and consistent treatment of licensees. The ULR would consolidate different license categories and allow operators to provide any telecom service over a single license. Case studies from countries like Myanmar, India and Hong Kong that have implemented a ULR successfully show increases in investment, innovation and service availability. A ULR is also proposed to address issues like vertical and horizontal convergence challenges currently faced in Bangladesh's telecom market.

1. CONVERGED & EFFICIENT LICENSING FRAMEWORK
RECOMMENDATION ON LICENSING REGIME REFORM
LIEUTENANT COLONEL MOHAMMAD ZULFIKAR, PSC
DIRECTOR
BANGLADESH TELECOMMUNICATION REGULATORY COMMISSION

2. SCOPE
• Individual & Class Licensing Regime [ICLR]
• Sector Statistics : Bangladesh
• What & Why
• How & Efficient Approach
• Licensing Principle
• Unified Licensing Regime [ULR]
• Proposed Transition : ICLR to ULR
• ITU Recommended Model
• Common Practice in Asia-Pacific Region
• International Best Practice
• Convergence in Licensing Regime
• Example : Asia-Pacific Countries
• Case Study : Myanmar
• Vertical Convergence : Bangladesh
• Horizontal Convergence : Bangladesh
• Hybrid Convergence : Proposed Model
• Recommendation
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3. INDIVIDUAL & CLASS LICENSING REGIME
• Technology Defined Licensing
• 2G CMPO (GSM / CDMA)
• Standardization Based Licensing
• BWA (WiMAX 802.16e)
• Resource Defined Licensing
• 3G CMPO (Allocation of 2100 MHz Frequency-Band)
• Network Topology Based Licensing
• Carrier (SC , ITC) ; Gateway (IGW , IIG) ; Exchange (ICX , NIX) ; Access
Network Service (ISP , IPTSP , PSTN) ; Over The Top (VTS , CC , CP) ; etc.
• Open Licensing Regime
• Remains Open To Acquire by Eligible Applicant(s) , Not-Revenue Focused
• Close Licensing Regime
• Available as per Govt. Wish , Limited Number of License , Revenue Focused
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4. SECTOR STATISTICS
6 CMPOs
11 PSTNs
3 BWAs
482 ISPs
39 IPTSPs
5 NTTNs
6 ITCs
1 SC
29 IGWs
840 VSPs
26 ICXs
37 IIGs
2 NIXs
282 CCs
14 VTSs
8 CPs
Number of License 2000 (approximately)

5. LICENSING : WHAT & WHY
What Is Licensing
Licensing is a Key Regulatory Instrument that is Integral to the Successful & Efficient Supply
of Telecom/ICT Services to the Citizen. It is a Grant of Right to Operate & Provide Services
by Regulator / Government. It Imposes General & Specific Obligations / Restrictions etc.
Why Licensing
 Administrative Control on an Essential Public Service
 Expansion of Networks & Services and Other Universal Service Objectives
 Privatization / Commercialization [FDI + Innovation]
 Regulating Market Structure
 Establishing a Competition Framework
 Allocation of Scare Resource
 Generating Government Revenue
 Consumer Protection
 Ensuring Availability, Affordability & Quality of Service
 Regulatory Certainty [Assurance of Level Playing Field to the Licensees]
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6. LICENSING : HOW & EFFICIENCY
How to Frame License
• Balance between efficiency and effectiveness
• Key principles of effectiveness are, simplicity, flexibility, certainty of service and
technology neutrality, and equal treatment of licensees
• Efficiency involves reducing use of resources such as costs and time in licensing process
• A key current challenge is how / whether to license “over the top” or OTT services which
are extra-territorial in nature and often do not have any facilities within a jurisdiction
Efficient Approach of Licensing
• An authorization-based approach, which has been adopted in other regions, while
licensing remains the predominant approach in Asia
• Distinguishing between licensing of services that are offered to the public and those that
are offered to a limited group, with no significant impact on public welfare
• Service and technology neutrality allowing operators to maximize their use of the latest
technology while reducing administrative costs
• Adopting a unified licensing regime
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7. LICENSING PRINCIPLE
 International Licensing Principle
Licenses Should be Issued to the Entity Which Can Bring Maximum Socio-Economic Benefits
for the Country
 Licensing Principle for BTRC
BTRC is Actively Considering to Move Towards an Effective, Forward-Looking Licensing
Framework Which would Enable the Nation to Realize the Full Potential of
Telecommunications and Information Technology. In fact, this Enables Growth and Support
National Aspirations of Becoming a Middle Income Country.
 Unified Licensing Regime : Key Issues of to Consider
Effectiveness, Efficiency, Tech-Neutrality and Convergence of ICLR
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8. UNIVERSAL LICENSING REGIME [ULR]
Key Elements
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Simplified,UnifiedRegime
Migrate to ULR
Remove Categories of
Licences That Add No
Value and Represent
Artificial Constraints,
Exclusive Licensing
Arrangements
Minimize license
provisions
Technology & Service
Neutral: Ensure That
Licensing is as Neutral
in Technology and
Service Terms as
Possible
CertaintyinLicensing
Clear, Open Processes
with Public
Consultation
Means of
Administrative Appeal
No Open-Ended
Discretion
ConsistentTreatmentofLicensees
Enable Private Sector
and FDI Participation
on Equal Basis

9. PROPOSED TRANSITION FRAMEWORK : CLR - ULR
The implementation of ULR requires careful planning and comprehensive assessment of a
range of issues. Industry consultation should be a part of the transition process at each
step. An effective transition process involves:
• Assessment of the current licensing framework and identification of amendments
required to ensure the unified licensing regime fits within the existing legislative and
regulatory framework;
• Assessment of the appropriate level of regulatory intervention required (i.e. individual
licence versus class licence) and the licence terms and conditions;
• Development of the process for issuing new licences and whether there should be any
restrictions on the number of licences issued;
• Determination of which licensing regime is more appropriate, the right licensing
structure/categorisation, and the nature/scope of the new licences;
• Development of the transition/migration process and terms for transition (e.g. whether
mandatory or voluntary migration, and the time period for transition); and
• Undertaking of licence mapping/conversion on how existing service and facilities
specific licences will fit into the new unified licensing categories.
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10. ITU RECOMMENDED MODEL
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11. COMMON PRACTICE IN ASIA-PACIFIC
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12. INTERNATIONAL BEST PRACTICE
• Rights and obligations of licensees should be clear and consistent, with changes resulting
only from transparent consultation
• Licensees should have recourse to independent and transparent dispute resolution or
appeals processes where there are disputes with the regulator
• Regulators should move towards a unified licensing framework by consolidation of
existing service specific license categories
• Licensing framework should consist of both individual licenses for public
telecommunications providers and class licenses for non-public services with limited
scope
• Licensing framework should meet the regulatory requirements of a converged
telecommunications sector, licenses should be technology neutral
• Where there is insufficient competition in a market, licensing should be used as a means
of facilitating competition (including new market entry if needed)
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13. TOWARDS CONVERGENCE : ASIA-PACIFIC
13
Australia
The
Telecommunications
Act 1997 regulates
‘carriers’ and
‘service providers’.
‘Carriers’ basically
own specified
infrastructure
facilities or ‘network
units’ and subjected
to individual
licensing.
Service providers’
are ‘carriage
service providers’
and ‘content service
providers’ and are
not subjected to
individual licensing
requirements.
HongKong
Hong Kong
introduced unified
carrier licensing in
August 2008, which
authorizes the
provision of any
combination of
fixed, mobile and
converged services.
There is no
restriction on the
types of services
which may be
authorized under
the said licenses
India
India introduced
unified licensing
regime in 2003,
which was
implemented in two
phases.
During the first
phase, basic (fixed)
and cellular services
were transitioned to
the unified access
service license.
The second phase
commenced in 2005
and involved full
transition of all
services to the
unified licensing
regime and ended
service based
licensing
Malaysia
Malaysia has two
broad types of
licenses, namely
individual licenses
and class licenses,
which are applied
to four categories of
activity, namely
ownership of
network facilities,
network services,
applications services
and content
applications services

14. TOWARDS CONVERGENCE : ASIA-PACIFIC
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NewZealand
There are no licensing
requirements in New
Zealand.
However, the Minister may
declare operators to be
network operators for the
purposes of the
Telecommunications Act
2011, thereby subjecting
them to the provisions of
the Act as they relate to
network operators.
Singapore
Singapore has two classes
of licenses, namely the
facilities-based operator
(FBO) license and service-
based operator (SBO)
license.
FBO license is always an
individual license whilst
SBO license can be
individual or class license
Thailand
Thailand introduced its
current licensing system in
2001.
This included three licensing
categories:
Type 1 licenses for
operators who do not own
their own network
infrastructure;
Type 2 licenses for
operators with or without
their own network
infrastructure but who
target only a segment of
the market; and
Type 3 licenses for
operators with their own
network infrastructure who
provide services to the
general public.

15. CASE STUDY : MYANMAR
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16. VERTICAL CONVERGENCE : BANGLADESH
Transmission system is the integral part of
the telecommunication service delivery.
Due to vertical separation of licensing
scope, mobile operators are not allowed
to lay fiber and it has been made
mandatory to get the fiber transmission
service from the NTTN licensee. In most
cases, it is found that NTTN licensees are
unable to cater the demand of service
providers. This is impacting the growth of
sector, infrastructure and telecom
penetration in remote rural areas.
In case of vertical convergence from
Bangladesh context, ULR may consolidate
the business scope of access network,
transmission and gateway services.
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17. HORIZONTAL CONVERGENCE : BANGLADESH
• Next generation telecommunication network are built on common and IT based technology standards like IP, which is
making it possible to run myriad of services on the same network infrastructure built for different access
technologies. The same core network, transmission network, service network and billing/charging could be used to
serve both fixed and mobile customers.
• Segregation of licenses based on access technology would lead to duplicity of infrastructure deployment and
would be a national loss. Convergence on the access side would be allowed and encouraged, and necessary
changes in the regulatory framework would be brought.
• Any new licensing regime should undergo a thorough economical analysis to ascertain whether the country resources
can be used most optimally and the value created for the customer and society is maximum and sustainable.
• License gives an investor or, a service provider the authority to enter into a service market, hence the licensing
process determines the level of competition in the market. To create a competitive environment no artificial entry
barriers should be created and wherever it is possible the entry should be made open; but it has to be ensured that
the policy and licensing criteria should not impede competition among the players.
• The licensing regime should also be non-discriminatory and should not favor any particular type of investor,
ethnicity and nationality.
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18. HYBRID CONVERGENCE : PROPOSED
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19. RECOMMENDATION : NETWORK & SERVICE
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Column : Operator Node
Row: Communication Type
Voice Communication Data Communication
ILDC Submarine Cable + ITC = ILDC Operator
Gateway IGW, VSP + IIG
NTTN + Tower & Infrastructure Company
ICX [LI Probe] + NIX [LI Probe]
Infrastructure
Exchange
Access Network CMPO, IPTSP, PSTN + CMPO, ISP, BWA = ANS Operator
End User Quad-Play + Cellular Mobile Service
 Converged Scenario
 ILDC Operator : Raw Bandwidth
 Infrastructure Operator : Ex-Gateway + Ex-Infrastructure along with the LI Probe &
Monitoring Platform [International + Domestic Routing]
 ANS Operator : Ex-Voice + Ex-Data [Voice + Data : Managed]
 End User : Single Connectivity for Quad-Play + Cellular Mobile Service

20. RECOMMENDATION : REGULATORY ARRANGEMENT
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Operator Type Required Amendment
ILDC Operator Policy : ILDTS ; License : ITC + SC , IGW + IIG , NTTN
Infrastructure Operator Policy : ILDTS ; License : IGW + IIG , NTTN , ICX + NIX
ANS Operator Policy : ILDTS ; License : CMPO , ISP , IPTSP , PSTN , BWA ,
NTTN , ICX + NIX ; Directive & Approval : Several
 Implementation Road-Map
 Policy Amendment : 1 – 2 Year (If Govt. Understood the Necessity)
 Licensing Guidelines : 1 – 2 Year, After Policy Amendment (If Ministry Remains In-Line)
 Business Migration/Merger/Amalgamation/etc. : 1 – 2 Year, After Policy Amendment
 Commercial Launch of Convergence / ULR : 1 – 2 Year, After License Amendment
 Development of License Awarding Matrix (Resource Allocation vs. License Tenure vs. Upstream
Connectivity vs. Downstream Connectivity vs. Revenue Sharing) : 1 Year, after License Amendment
 Issuance of Access Regulation, Competition Regulation, Consumer Protection Guidelines,
Standardization & QoS Guidelines, Subscriber Registration & NEIR Guidelines (minimum
requirement for the industry right now) : 2 Years, After License Amendment
 Total Time Required for Full Implementation of Converged/ULR : 6 Years [Will Govt. Start Now]

21. WHAT WE [REALLY] NEED TO DO
• ULR : Let Us Visualize A Smart License Awarding Scheme
• Do Bangladesh Really Need Any Transition Towards ULR
• Technology Based Licensing : Too Many Class License
• Network Topology based Licensing : Too Many Class License
• Difficult To Cater In Synchronized Manner
• Difficult To Set Licensing Principle
• Do We Really Need Any ‘Convergence’ Prior To ULR
• Recommendation on Licensing Regime Reform-Model
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22. Interactive Session
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