Bangladesh's telecom ministry has decided to amend the terms of an upcoming 3G auction to enable more participation by international operators.
The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications has modified the original draft terms to incorporate a provision allowing for more foreign participation, BDNews24reported.
Instead of allocating the 50 MHz of 2,100-MHz spectrum set aside for the auction in 10 MHz chunks, the new terms stipulate using 5 MHz slots, with a provision for larger operators to bid on two slots of spectrum.
The original proposal would have had the nation's six domestic operators vying for four slots – with one of these set aside for state-run Teletalk – with the fifth reserved for a foreign operator.
There will instead now be eight slots auctioned off, with two reserved for Teletalk, opening the possibility for more than one foreign operator to win a license.
Bangladesh's 3G auction is scheduled to begin in March. The ministry has proposed a $20 million per MHz reserve price.
Teletalk launched 3G services in October last year, under special dispensation from the government.