The much-talked-about 3G technology for high speed internet and data transfer will not be able to bring expected result if the bandwidth price is not reduced, said experts.
The mobile operators are selling bandwidth at higher price compared to their purchase price, the experts said. Four mobile phone companies — Grameenphone, Banglalink, Robi and Airtel — on Sunday bought 25MHz spectrum in an auction held by the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission.
‘I don’t think the 3G technology will bring the expected outcome if the bandwidth price is not reduced. As we have low internet penetration, lowering the price is a must in order to spread the use of internet by the common people,’ Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services director Fahim Mashroor told New Age.
‘The mobile phone companies are buying the bandwidth at a lower price and selling it at a much higher price,’ he said.
He said the government should cut the bandwidth price further if the country had to enjoy the actual 3G experience.
‘I would request the telecom regulator to consider lowering the bandwidth price further,’ he said.
The four private mobile phone companies in July reduced the price of internet in the P1 package following a directive by the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission.
The BTRC directive came following repeated protest by the information and communications technology-related organisations which demanded the price should be Tk 0.10 for 1MBps and Tk 10 for 1GBps.
Information and technology activists said the government had reduced the price in phases, but the service providers did not cut the price accordingly.
According to BTRC officials the commission reduced in phases the internet bandwidth price to as low as Tk 8,000 a megabyte in 2012, which was Tk 72,000 in 2004, but the mobile phone operators continued to charge P1 package subscribers at the same rate for the last eight years.
In July, the Grameenphone reduced the price for pay as you go internet pack (P1) by 50 per cent to Tk 0.01 or 1 paisa per kilobyte instead of Tk 0.02 charged earlier.
Three other mobile phone companies — Banglalink, Robi and Airtel — cut the P1 internet price by 25 per cent after the telecom regulator had asked all the operators to slash mobile internet price by June 30.
‘Price of the bandwidth is surely a concern when you launch an advanced technology like 3G. The mobile operators should consider the matter,’ BTRC’s 3G auction consultant Abdullah Ferdous told New Age when asked about the issue.
Abdullah, a telecom expert based in the UK, said, ‘The problem is that consumption rate is very low in Bangladesh which actually puts the service providers in a tight spot in many cases.’
Association of Mobile Telephone Operators of Bangladesh secretary general TIM Nurul Kabir said mobile phone companies were playing in a highly competitive market and those would consider the customer’s satisfaction while designing the 3G packages.
‘I am sure mobile phone companies will not lose their customers and will try to bring the 3G packages at affordable price,’ he said.
He also mentioned that the operators had reduced the internet price recently.
‘The internet price is linked to a long supply chain. Anything done about it needs proper coordination with all stakeholders,’ he said.
-With New Age input
