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The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commision on Sunday for the first time imposed ceilings on prices of three slabs of broadband internet in the country.
The commission made the announcement at the inaugural ceremony of the same broadband internet tariff for everywhere in the country on Sunday, held at its headquarters in Dhaka.
Posts and telecommunications minister Mustafa Jabbar, BTRC chairman Shyam Sunder Sikder, its telecom secretary Md Afzal Hossain, BTRC director general Brigadier General Md Nasim Parvez, Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited managing director Md Rafiqul Matin and Internet Service Providers Association of Bangladesh president Md Aminul Hakim, among others, spoke.
The three broadband internet slabs are 5Mbps, 10Mbps and 20Mbps. The monthly price ceilings on 5Mbps, 10Mbps and 20Mbps have been set at Tk 500, Tk 800 and Tk 1,200 respectively.
On top of the prices, a 5-per cent VAT will be applicable and customers will have to bear the tax.
In the country, the number of unique internet users — mobile and broadband — has reached 5.89 crore.
Of the users, 4.9 crore are unique mobile internet users and the rest 98 lakh broadband internet users.
As per the BTRC data, the country’s internet consumption has reached 2,409Gbps. Of the usage, the broadband internet users consume 58 per cent or 1,392Gbps and the mobile internet users consume the rest 42 per cent or 1,017Gbps.
Mustafa Jabbar said that the new ceiling on broadband internet price was introduced especially for people in the remote areas as people in the city areas were getting services at affordable prices.
Expansion of broadband would ultimately help expediting development of IT-skilled manpower, he said.
The government’s plan was to take broadband service to each household across the country and the setting of broadband prices would ultimately support implementing the plan, Jabbar said.
‘I believe that the commission would continue to put its efforts to make the internet service more affordable and to solve problems, which would arise in the way of implementing “One country, one rate” throughout the country.’
Md Nasim Parvez said that the commission has set the prices keeping the existing reality in mind.
He also hoped that the newly introduced ceilings on tariff rates of broadband internet would ultimately help in increasing broadband internet usage thus supporting a higher economic growth of Bangladesh.
An internet service provider, while attending the event online from Khulna, requested the government to set internet prices at the international internet gateway (IIG) level so that the ISPs could implement the ceilings conveniently.
