BTRC limits mobile call charges, sets new rules

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Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission Thursday fixed tariff limits and set new rules on marketing of mobile phone services, reports bdnews24.com.
The 'interim directive' of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) does not allow mobile phone service operators to charge more than Tk 2 and less than Tk 0.25 per minute from now on.
The highest and lowest tariff limits are equally applicable to prepaid and postpaid services. The telecoms regulator has also scrapped monthly charges for prepaid connections.
The regulator has tightened its grip on sales and marketing of mobile phone services. The operators cannot offer any freebies other than free talk-time, free SMS or free handsets from now on, the BTRC said in a letter to mobile service providers.
But the customers can use the free talk-time only for "off-net" calls, which means mobile phone users cannot make bonus calls within the network, using the minutes they have earned. Users have to call other mobile networks to enjoy the bonus airtime.
The first regulatory intervention on commercial issues explicitly prohibits any cash or valuable rewards to allure the consumers.
Claiming to be the telecoms sector's "custodian", the BTRC said it would also approve the operators' marketing campaign that tags anything free other than talk-time, short message service (SMS) or mobile phones.
The mobile phone operators are divided on the new regulatory decree.
"The minimum tariff should not apply to smaller players," a top official with the telecoms watchdog told the bdnews24.com, requesting anonymity.
"It would make the big operators bigger as they can afford prolonged subsidy. But the smaller operators don't have a deep pocket and BTRC should understand that," the official said.
Consumers have welcomed the tariff cuts but objected to making "off-net" calls mandatory for bonus airtime.
"Using the free minutes that I have earned is my prerogative," Abdul Malek, a schoolteacher in Mymensingh, told the news agency on phone.
He said BTRC should have asked the operators to improve the quality of services. "Selling trash at cheaper prices makes no sense."
BTRC will sit with the operators Monday to discuss the directive it has imposed.