The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) is seeking applications for a mobile number portability (MNP) service provider, to be selected through a beauty contest procurement.
The nation's prime minister and finance minister have approved amended guidelines for the introduction of MNP in the nation, and the regulator has responded by seeking participants, Bangladesh News 24reported.
A single company will receive a 15-year MNP license in exchange for a 100 million taka fee, the report states. The winner will be selected based on a review of applicants' financial capacity, technical skills and prior experience.
Overseas companies will be able to apply for the license if they take on a local company as a partner, but will not be able to hold more than a 51% stake in the business receiving the license.
They will need to have at least three years experience providing MNP services to at least 10 million users in at least one country. Applications are open until August 23.
Bangladesh's original MNP guidelines posit that customers will be able to take advantage of MNP and port their number to a new mobile operator in exchange for a 30 taka fee.
The regulator had initially intended to hold an auction to select the winning MNP licensee, but has now switched to the beauty contest model.