The total number of voice and Internet packages of five mobile operators in the country is more than six hundred, creating a complexity for the user to choose the right one.
To ease the process of selecting the right one from a limited number of packages, the government has set a limit of 35 packages per mobile operator.
Currently, there are 617 packages, Grameenphone 102, Robi and Airtel 258 and 139, Banglalink 76 and Teletalk 42.
Talking on the matter, post, telecommunication and information technology minister, Mustafa Jabbar, told Bangla Tribune: “operators have been ordered to have a maximum of 35 packages from 1 July.”
Stringent measures will be taken against those who flout the order, warned the minister.
I have also asked the packages to be reviewed so only the ones which benefit the users will remain, added the minister.
Banglalink head of corporate affairs, Taimur Rahman, said: “apart from Teletalk, Banglalink has lower number of packages than others; we are trying to simplify these to make the services more efficient.”
The number of packages increase because users want different price ranges, starting from Tk. 500 to Tk. 1500, he added.
Information is also being collected on unapproved packages; previously, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission, BTRC, declared Grameenphone’s Go Broadband and Banglalink’s Icon illegal since they did not have proper approval, fining the operators, Tk. 30 crore and Tk. 92 crore respectively.
It’s believed that many of the packages are activated inadvertently by people living in rural areas who press the yes button without understanding what they are accepting.
Plans are also underway to make mobile services user friendly and inform users of packages once they have activated them.