The government would take necessary measures if mobile operators fail to reduce internet prices, said Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb, special assistant on posts, telecommunications and ICT affairs to the chief adviser, on Thursday.
He made the remarks at a press conference at the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission office in Agargaon, Dhaka, ahead of World Telecommunication and Information Society Day 2025, to be observed on Saturday.
Responding to questions about why internet prices remain high, Taiyeb said that bandwidth costs at the gateway and transmission levels were reduced.
鈥榃e鈥檝e taken both regulatory and practical steps to ensure internet charges come down. Many stakeholders are already on board. Those who haven鈥檛 joined the process should do so,鈥� he said.
Taiyeb emphasised that with lower upstream costs, end-user internet prices should also drop. He urged mobile companies to cooperate, warning that unresolved financial issues and performance-related Key Performance Indicators might be raised during further negotiations if they didn鈥檛 comply.
Addressing the same event, BTRC chairman Major General (retired) Md Emdad ul Bari said that reducing internet costs was a top priority for both the government and the BTRC, but emphasised that price changes couldn鈥檛 happen overnight due to the industry鈥檚 complexity.
He added that the BTRC aimed to deregulate the internet sector to allow market-driven pricing and encourage service diversity.
This year鈥檚 main World Telecommunication and Information Society Day programme will be held at the BTRC headquarters. Highlights include the unveiling of a commemorative postage stamp by chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus, a fair featuring telecom entrepreneurs and licensees, the distribution of special devices to individuals injured during the July鈥揂ugust uprising, and formal recognition of outstanding contributors to the telecommunications sector at both national and international levels.
