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WiMax bid winners struggle to raise funds for licences

Md Hasan
Local WiMax licensees find it difficult to borrow required funds from banks to pay their licence fees as financial institutions have adopted a cautious lending strategy amid the global economic meltdown.
The WiMax licence holders had appeared in court to get the deadline extended to deposit the licence acquisition fees to the Bangla-desh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission.
A prospective broadband internet provider through WiMax said he had to mortgage land to obtain bank loans.
“The WiMax market could not present itself as a bullish business to financial institutions now, due to the global economic crisis," said Mir Masud Kabir, managing director of Mango Telecom.
Financial institutions are extra-careful in funding such large projects."
'It is all about money. But it may be difficult for banks to visualise returns from these business cases," he said.
Mango Telecom agreed to take the WiMax licence as the third private operator after BRAC Net, the second winner of the WiMax licence, surrendered their licence amid fears that the technology would not be a financially viable venture after paying the hefty licence fee.
WiMax (Worldwide Interoperability for
Microwave Access) is a wireless digital communication system that can provide broadband wireless access across 30 miles for fixed phones, and 3-10 miles for mobile stations.
The three bidders --BanglaLion Communication, BRAC BD Mail Network Ltd and Augere Wireless Broadband Bangladesh Ltd -- won the licences at an auction organised by BTRC in September last year.
The Tk 215 crore bid price for each WiMax licence acquisition had become a 'double bind' for the telecom regulator, as only Augere was able to deposit the licence money.
After BRAC'S departure from the race, BTRC called others bidder on a chronological basis and Mango Telecom, the seventh bidder, agreed to take the licence as the third private WiMax operator.
However, the hefty licence fee was questioning the viability of the WiMax venture in the Bangladeshi market.
Foreign equity owning licensee Augere deposited licence fee in due date,
whereas others two yet to make full payment.
Along with Mango, BanglaLion Communication, the first ranked bidder, is yet to deposit the full licence fee to BTRC, BTRC officials.
BanglaLion, which is aiming to launch its data and internet services through WiMax by June this year, paid 50 percent of the set licence fee.
A bank consortium, headed by AB Bank, at last agreed to finance the project.
"As per the court verdict, we have some time to pay the remaining money. We hope to pay the money by this month," said Parvez Ahmed Shamim, who is consulting BanglaLion's WiMax project.
Sources said BanglaLion also had to struggle to get loans from the banks despite having a good business background.
Through WiMax, high speed broadband technol ogy would be introduced. At present, more than a million customers are enjoying internet facilities, mainly connected by the local internet service providers.