Faiz Ahmed Tayyab, Special Assistant to the Chief Advisor at the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology, said that internet prices are being reduced at three new levels.
He said, “Internet prices have also been reduced at the wholesale level at the international and national levels through a public-private joint initiative. Now it is the turn of the national level.”
At the national level, he emphasized on reducing mobile internet prices. He presented two expected demands to the three private mobile operator companies to reduce mobile internet prices.
Special Assistant Faiz Ahmed Tayyab presented these demands in a post on his Facebook ID on Monday (April 21) morning.
Faiz Ahmed Tayyab said that the government mobile service company Teletalk had announced a 10 percent price reduction from the day of Eid-ul-Fitr. The government hopes that the three private mobile operator companies will announce a very reasonable price reduction for mobile internet very soon. He also said that the government expects two types of discounts here.
The special assistant to the chief advisor also raised the two expected demands. He wrote, ‘First, the prices that mobile companies had increased due to SRO adjustment in March will be reduced. And number two is that the wholesale prices at the international gateway or ITC, IIG and national transmission levels will be reduced in proportion to the amount of reduction in the prices at the consumer level.’
While all stakeholders at the international and national levels are reducing internet prices due to government pressure, the three private mobile operators Grameenphone, Banglalink and Robi are still silent.
Officials of the three operators were contacted to get their reaction on the special assistant’s expected demands. They did not agree to say anything officially about it. Each said that they are considering the matter. They will also discuss it at the AMT. They will make a decision soon.
An official of an operator company said without disclosing his name, ‘The government has clearly put them under pressure. When it comes to price reduction from all sides, we have no choice but to remain silent. Something has to be done. It will be discussed and a decision will be taken after considering all aspects. Maybe it (the percentage of price reduction) can be officially announced soon.’
Meanwhile, in a Facebook post, Faiz Ahmed Tayyab said that internet prices are being reduced in three new tiers. The management of Fiber at Home has confirmed that they will reduce prices by 10 percent at the ITC level, 10 percent at the IIG level, and 15 percent at the NTTN level. Earlier, the Association of ISP Licensed Companies has guaranteed to provide 10 MB of internet for 500 taka instead of 5 MB. Even before that, at the international gateway level, Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company has reduced prices by 20 percent, including 10 percent for all IIG and ISP customers and an additional 10 percent for wholesale customers.
He further wrote that initiatives have been taken to reduce internet prices in three to four tiers of the internet license regime. Only the announcement of price reductions for 3 private companies providing mobile services is left. The government has already provided DWDM and dark fiber facilities to mobile companies. In such a situation, there is no logical reason or excuse for private mobile companies not to reduce the price of internet.
Stating that the government is committed to reducing the price of internet, Faiz Ahmed said, “There are widespread questions about the meaning of mobile internet in Bangladesh. The price is much higher than the quality. In such a situation, the government is committed to taking rational steps in the interest of consumers.”
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