telecom bd

Hearing on the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission's (BTRC) notice served on Grameenphone (GP) for payment of spectrum assignment and licence renewal fees started Wednesday.Barrister Fazle Noor Taposh and Barrister Mohammad Mehedi Hasan Chowdhury on behalf of GP placed their arguments before the High Court Bench comprising Justice Farid Ahmed and Justice Sheikh Hassan Arif. The hearing will resume again today (Thursday), Barrister Mehedi Hasan told us. Mr Hasan said he informed the court that when the GP officials went to the BTRC for renewing its licence in 2011, the telecom regulator in a letter on October 17 of the same year demanded additional about Tk 2.37 billion for spectrum assignment fee, which was allocated by the BTRC to the GP for 18 years term in 2008.But in the frequency allocation letter issued in 2008 and the licence renewal guideline of September 11, 2011, it was categorically stated that no additional fee would be charged against this assignment in future, he said, adding that they challenged the BTRC's unlawful demand. According to a SRO issued in 2010, the notice served by BTRC on GP for payment of licence renewal fee and spectrum assignment fee without any deduction of VAT and tax was also unlawful, he added.Mr Azmalul Hossain QC, Barrister Khandaker Reza-e Raquib, Barrister Imranul Kabir and Barrister Nadia Naznin stood in the court on behalf of the BTRC.Barrister Reza-e Raquib told that they would put their submission as soon as the GP lawyers concluded their arguments.