The Bangladesh Mobile Phone Consumers Association (BMCA), an organization working on consumer rights, has called for an end to the manipulation of mobile-based internet data and Talktime to reduce the extra expenses of customers who have lost their income in the wake of the Corona pandemic.
On Saturday, Mohiuddin Ahmed, president of the organization, said in a statement to the media that when Digital Bangladesh was announced in 2008, the bandwidth usage was only 800 Gbps. After 12 years of initiating digital Bangladesh, bandwidth usage is 2400 Gbps. At that time the price of bandwidth was 1 lakh 25 thousand Taka. At present, the government has reduced it to only Tk. 280. The number of broadband internet users is 1 crore 5 thousand. On the other hand, the number of mobile phone-based internet users is 11 crore 61 lakh 30 thousand.
He also demanded an end to the interference of internet data and talk time, adding that the maximum bandwidth usage of broadband is 1,400 Gbps. And about 12 crore mobile phone-based internet users use only 900 Gbps bandwidth. It is easy to guess why the revenue collection of mobile phone operators is so high even after using so little bandwidth to serve most customers. This has caused frustration among the customers which is being expressed by many through social media, for example, after buying data or talk time, after the expiration of a certain period, the unused data and talk time is not available for the next recharge.
The calculation is very simple, he added. For example, if you bought 1 GB of data but used only 500 MB, then your time has elapsed. So where did the unused 524 MB go? The answer is very simple, different packages have been made with unused MB and resold to the customers. Since the Regulatory Commission has decided to model the difficulty of pricing the Internet, we call for an end to the interference of Internet data and Talktime without reducing prices in the Corona pandemic. We kindly request that the neglected data Talktime be added during the next recharge. I humbly request the Mobile Phone Operator Regulatory Commission and the government to consider the matter.
