Dhaka, Nov. 28 -- The government has fixed January 14 next year for the auction of the long-awaited 700 MHz spectrum, signalling a decisive move towards releasing a band that has been locked in legal and regulatory disputes for nearly two decades.

The date was formally announced in the Instructions for Radio Frequency Auction 2026, published by the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) on Thursday.

According to the auction timetable, the bidding will begin at 10:00am.

The regulator will offer 25 MHz of spectrum, split into five blocks of 5 MHz each, through an open outcry auction.

Although the 700 MHz band contains 45 MHz in total, only the uncontested 25 MHz can be offered at this stage because the remaining porti...