Three tower companies in Bangladesh requested waivers from the government on making annual fees, revenue sharing and social obligation fund payments, as they have yet to start operations due to disagreements with mobile operators, local newspaper The Independent reported.

Summit Towers, Kirtonkhola Tower Bangladesh and HighTech Consortium were awarded tower-sharing licences in 2018 and received one-year waivers on paying fees as they deployed their networks.

In letters sent to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), the tower companies asked for the waivers to continue for an additional year while they work out service level agreements with the operators and initiate service.

The government forewent payments estimated at BDT150 million ($1.8 million) in annual fees alone from the three companies, the newspaper wrote.

BTRC agreed to a 5.5 per cent waiver on the companies’ annual fees and revenue sharing, along with a 1 per cent deferral on the social welfare fund contribution. The recommendation needs approval from the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology.

Edotco Bangladesh also was awarded a tower-sharing licence in 2018 and is the only one of the four to have launched service.