Internet Service Providers Association of Bangladesh on Saturday placed a seven-point demand to ensure the protection of local entrepreneurs, including setting a floor price for internet services.
The demands were presented at a workshop titled 鈥楧raft Telecom Policy and Challenges of the ISP Industry鈥�, organised by Telecom Reporters鈥� Network Bangladesh (TRNB) at RAOWA Club in the capital鈥檚 Mohakhali area on Saturday.
At the event, ISPAB placed demands of Introducing both floor and ceiling prices for internet services, setting the minimum package price at Tk 800 for 50 Mbps internet speed, implementing active network sharing which will improve service quality and significantly help reduce internet costs, ensuring last-mile connectivity remains under ISP control, reducing the NTTN (Nationwide Telecommunication Transmission Network) service charges to a single-digit percentage, eliminating Social Obligation Fund (SOF) and revenue sharing system, and聽 ensuring the protection of local entrepreneurs.
ISPAB president Aminul Hakim, secretary general Nazmul Karim Bhuiyan, former president Abdus Salam, and Emdadul Haque spoke at the workshop, while Mobarak Hossain presented the overall ISPAB proposal.
Aminul Hakim said, 鈥楾he proposed draft Telecom Policy has created the biggest policy crisis in the last 27 years, which is self-contradictory. Providing the best internet service at the lowest price is unrealistic. This has become part of cheap politics. If the government does not offer concessions, private companies will not be able to reduce internet prices.鈥�
He said the government collected around 60 per cent of taxes and revenue from the ISP sector, and under such circumstances, providing high-speed internet at low prices was impossible.
ISPAB Secretary General Nazmul Karim Bhuiyan said, 鈥淒ue to the absence of active sharing, a huge amount of money is being wasted in the country. To address this, we have already set up a common 1 Gbps cable line in Dhanmondi, through which 77 ISPs are jointly providing high-speed internet services.鈥�
