No More 3 And 15 Days Internet Data Package From Today

3 and 15 days of internet data packages have been completely stopped from today Sunday (October 15). On September 3, the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) ordered mobile operators to discontinue internet data packages for 3 and 15 days from October 15.

Currently, operators have 95 types of packages. BTRC directed them to limit the number of packages to 40. From now on people will have to buy at least seven days validity package. The seven-day package costs more than the three-day package. As a result, people's expenses are expected to increase.

Mobile operator Grameenphone's My GP app showed on Sunday morning that there is no one gigabit (GB) data package for three days. It will cost Tk 98 to buy 3 GB of data for a period of seven days and 10 GB for the same period will cost Tk 169. But the Tk 28 package of 512 megabytes per day was seen there on the app.

According to telecommunications sector experts and consumer rights organizations, this restricts consumers' freedom of choice. This initiative will have a financial impact on the grassroots, low-income, and youth and will reduce the use of telecom services, especially the Internet.

From October 15, mobile users will get a chance to buy internet data packages for 7 or 30 days. There is also the facility of purchasing data packages for an indefinite period.

According to BTRC, they conducted a survey of mobile users and concluded that consumers are also in favor of limiting the offer packages. However, mobile operators say, the BTRC survey had such questions, which influenced the answers of the respondents.

Many customers who spoke at BTRC's survey results release event on May 30 also said they want more packages, especially for OTT usage and students.

Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar has been expressing his dissatisfaction for a long time with such packages of mobile operators.

Regarding the issue, Mustafa Jabbar said that earlier they used to offer 300 types of packages. Now offering 95 types of packages. Is it possible for customers to select the preferred package from 95 types of packages keeping in mind all of them? Through this people are getting confused to an extreme extent. So we have asked to reduce its number to 40.

When asked if this initiative is restricting the freedom of choice of customers, he said that a new system is being introduced to break the autocratic attitude of the operators.

Mobile operators have also opposed this decision of BTRC. The former secretary general of the Association of Mobile Telecom Operators of Bangladesh (AMTOB) TIM Nurul Kabir told the media that a large part of grassroot people use data for communication as well as for entertainment and other purposes. They mostly opt for affordable 3-day packages.

If the option to buy data for a short period of time at a low cost is eliminated, it will be very inconvenient for them. Customers should always have the freedom to choose options.