PROMOTIONAL PACKAGES
Comprehensive directive for mobile cos soon
The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission has decided to issue a comprehensive directive on promotional and tariff packages of the mobile phone
companies as the operators are not complying with the rules.
BTRC officials said the commission in different promotional violations had issued interim directives but there was no comprehensive order about the tariff and promotional packages offered by the mobile phone companies.
They said the commission would bring all the interim directives on tariff and promotional packages under one single directive and would introduce some new clauses with it.
‘We had issued several directives on promotion and tariffs of the mobile phone companies but all those were issue-based interim directives,’ said a BTRC official.
He said as there was no complete directive about the promotional packages the mobile phone companies could have used the loopholes of the rules.
‘So the commission has decided to issue a comprehensive directive on promotional packages offered by the mobile phone companies,’ he said.
He said the directive will be issued within a week.
The breach of BTRC promotional rules came into light after mobile phone operator Robi was served a show-cause notice in April for violating rules in a promotional campaign, offering high-value products.
According to the ‘Interim Directive on Tariff and Marketing Promotion,’ the mobile phone companies are barred from offering any reward other than free talk-time, SMS and mobile handsets.
The BTRC in late April held a discussion meeting with the mobile phone operators about the violation of promotional rules.
In the meeting the operators said the promotional rules set by the commission needed a revise as it was outdated. The BTRC assured the operators to introduce updated promotional laws soon.
The BTRC officials said the mobile companies remained reluctant in so many small issues while designing their promotional offers.
They also said that the new directive would include all kinds of issue including SMS-based promotion and other promotion offered by the companies.
-With New Age input
