Mobile operators hint at internet tariff cut

Indication follows PM�s advice

The prices of internet at consumer level are likely to come down as mobile operators have hinted at the reduction of prices gradually.
The mobile operators came up with indication in response to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s call for tariff reduction.
Grameenphone has already decided to reduce the price of internet at the consumer level.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina urged mobile operators on Saturday to decrease the price of internet at the consumer level. She said her government has reduced the price of bandwidth so that consumers get a better price as far as the internet is concerned.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also said her government was the first to give permission to privatise the telecom industry, and Grameenphone was one of the first to be given a licence.  
Yesterday, the head of external communications of Grameenphone, Sayed Talat Kamal, told The Independent that they are reducing the price of internet at the consumer level. He added that the price of bandwidth is 6 per cent to 8 per cent of the internet, and the rest is operational cost.
Grameenphone has reduced the operational cost by 80 per cent. So, the reduction in internet price is inevitable, he added.
According to the Bangladesh Telecom Regulatory Commission (BTRC), till July, there were 5 crore, 7 lakh and 7 thousand internet users, while 4 crore 92 lakh 41 thousand people access the net on their mobile phones.
Ekram Kabir, vice president of Robi Axiata, said as the leader in mobile data service, Robi welcomes all steps that help in the promotion of the use of internet among the people.  
The decision to reduce internet bandwidth price would surely benefit the industry, especially the internet service providers (ISP) and broadband operators, he said.
It is worth mentioning here that Robi is already offering free basic internet services for everyone in the country through Internet.org. Every day, this platform is being accessed 2 million times, said Kabir.  
“This initiative is already proving to be crucial in the national quest for reducing the  digital divide. On the other hand, we have already drastically reduced our data pack pricing. Currently, on an average, each MB of internet is priced at only 20–25 paisa. We need to remember that the spectrum pricing set by the government plays a major role in determining the data pricing at the consumer’s end, as it is the biggest cost element when we calculate the cost of service. Therefore, internet bandwidth price reduction will not have a major impact on the mobile telecom industry,” he said.

“We would like to take this opportunity to inform you that according to the latest statistics from BTRC, out of total internet users of 50.707 million in the country, 49.241 million use the internet through mobiles. Hence, we would like to urge the government to revisit the spectrum pricing mechanism along with the taxation regime to enable us to reduce our internet pricing even further,” he added.

Mobile operators hint at internet tariff cut

Indication follows PM�s advice

The prices of internet at consumer level are likely to come down as mobile operators have hinted at the reduction of prices gradually. The mobile operators came up with indication in response to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasinas call for tariff reduction. Grameenphone has already decided to reduce the price of internet at the consumer level. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina urged mobile operators on Saturday to decrease the price of internet at the consumer level. She said her government has reduced the price of bandwidth so that consumers get a better price as far as the internet is concerned. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also said her government was the first to give permission to privatise the telecom industry, and Grameenphone was one of the first to be given a licence. Yesterday, the head of external communications of Grameenphone, Sayed Talat Kamal, told The Independent that they are reducing the price of internet at the consumer level. He added that the price of bandwidth is 6 per cent to 8 per cent of the internet, and the rest is operational cost. Grameenphone has reduced the operational cost by 80 per cent. So, the reduction in internet price is inevitable, he added. According to the Bangladesh Telecom Regulatory Commission (BTRC), till July, there were 5 crore, 7 lakh and 7 thousand internet users, while 4 crore 92 lakh 41 thousand people access the net on their mobile phones. Ekram Kabir, vice president of Robi Axiata, said as the leader in mobile data service, Robi welcomes all steps that help in the promotion of the use of internet among the people. The decision to reduce internet bandwidth price would surely benefit the industry, especially the internet service providers (ISP) and broadband operators, he said. It is worth mentioning here that Robi is already offering free basic internet services for everyone in the country through Internet.org. Every day, this platform is being accessed 2 million times, said Kabir. This initiative is already proving to be crucial in the national quest for reducing the digital divide. On the other hand, we have already drastically reduced our data pack pricing. Currently, on an average, each MB of internet is priced at only 2025 paisa. We need to remember that the spectrum pricing set by the government plays a major role in determining the data pricing at the consumers end, as it is the biggest cost element when we calculate the cost of service. Therefore, internet bandwidth price reduction will not have a major impact on the mobile telecom industry, he said. We would like to take this opportunity to inform you that according to the latest statistics from BTRC, out of total internet users of 50.707 million in the country, 49.241 million use the internet through mobiles. Hence, we would like to urge the government to revisit the spectrum pricing mechanism along with the taxation regime to enable us to reduce our internet pricing even further, he added.