This is a welcome move, at least from the consumer's’ point of view, on the part of BTRC. Telecom operators have shown very little discipline over the past years when it comes to internet data packs and bundles offering. The priority has always been profit over consumer experience. For example, Robi is offering about 36 different packages of internet bundles of different price range at the time of writing this report. The validity for these packages varies from one day to thirty days. There are conditions and usage guidelines for each package. This is complex and unhelpful for the users. More interestingly, it is hard to find examples of similar complex offerings with disregard to consumer experience in any other markets.
One the part of telecom operators, this is absurd and a self-defeating strategy. Although it has been a profitable strategy for all the operators, it will not help in the long-run. This regulatory initiative from the BTRC can also be seen as a result of the imprudent behavior on the part of the operators. BTRC has been quite active of late. A few months ago it was criticized for setting a 50 paisa lowest call rate for all the operators. This time, however, BTRC has addressed a real issue that genuinely affects mobile internet users in Bangladesh.
