Here's a question that would stump most Bangladeshi mobile users: What does 1GB of data actually cost?
The official answer from Robi and Grameenphone is ৳48 for seven days. Banglalink counters with ৳114 for 7GB. Simple enough. But try actually buying a data pack—whether through USSD codes, mobile apps, or operator websites—and you'll discover these headline numbers are just the entrance fee to a labyrinth designed to extract maximum revenue from confused customers.
This isn't accidental. It's systematic.
Bangladesh's three major operators—Grameenphone, Robi, and Banglalink—have perfected the art of pricing complexity. The mobile subscriber base has reached 188.87 million as of July 2025, divided among these operators who each maintain dozens of data packages with bewildering combinations of validity periods, speeds, and usage restrictions.
Consider Grameenphone's current offerings: 1GB for ৳143 (30 days), 4GB for ৳399 (30 days). Meanwhile, Banglalink offers 5GB for ৳299 and various combo packages with 3GB plus talk time for ৳48 (7 days). The per-GB cost ranges from ৳16 to ৳143 depending on which package you choose—a 794% price difference for the same product.
But here's where it gets interesting: buried in the terms are speed variations, time-of-day restrictions, and auto-renewal clauses that transform these packages into completely different products.
Robi offers "night packs" with cheaper rates between 12 AM and 10 AM. Banglalink has "social packs" for specific apps. Grameenphone pushes "combo packs" mixing data, voice, and SMS. The result? No customer can accurately compare prices across operators—or even within the same operator's portfolio.
Let's put these numbers in context. The median household income in Bangladesh is approximately ৳24,000 monthly, while the average is around ৳26,000. For a family spending ৳200 monthly on mobile data—a modest ৳50 per person—that's nearly 1% of household income going to basic connectivity.
By comparison, an Indian family with similar income would spend roughly ৳70 for the same 4GB of data. A Singaporean family, despite paying ৳180 for 4GB, spends just 0.15% of their median income on mobile data.
The numbers reveal a harsh truth: Bangladeshi consumers pay among the highest mobile data prices in the world relative to their purchasing power. The current pricing makes mobile internet unaffordable for many, with basic data packages consuming significant portions of household budgets.
Here's where Bangladesh's pricing strategy looks particularly predatory:
India: Mobile data costs just $0.09 per GB—roughly ৳11 per GB at current exchange rates. BSNL offers data at just ₹6.6 per GB, making Indian data roughly 5-10 times cheaper than Bangladesh.
Singapore: Despite higher absolute costs averaging $0.63 per GB (৳75), Singaporeans enjoy unlimited high-speed data with generous fair usage policies. Their regulatory framework mandates clear pricing disclosure and easy plan comparison tools.
Regional Context: Bangladesh's data costs place it among the more expensive markets in South Asia, despite having lower per capita income than regional neighbors.
Before examining how operators exploit customers, it's crucial to understand the elephant in the room: Bangladesh imposes some of the heaviest taxes on mobile services globally.
The total tax burden on mobile services now exceeds 42%, including 15% VAT, 20% supplementary duty, and 1% surcharge. This represents a significant increase from earlier years when the combined tax was 21.75% (5% VAT, 15% supplementary duty and 1% surcharge).
The government has been systematically increasing mobile taxes. The supplementary duty on mobile top-ups was hiked alongside VAT on SIM cards in Budget FY25, and operators started charging 15% VAT on data service from July 1, 2022, instead of the previous 5%.
Recent policy changes show the government's continued reliance on mobile taxation. The NBR initially planned to increase supplementary duty on mobile phone usage to 23%, though it may restore it to 20%. For context, the government has chosen mobile phone service as an easy way to collect taxes.
But Does Tax Justify the Complexity?
Here's where the operators' tax excuse falls apart. High taxes explain high absolute prices, but they don't explain opaque pricing structures.
Consider this: if taxes add 42% to costs, a transparent operator would simply display this clearly. A ৳100 data package would cost ৳142 after taxes—straightforward and honest. Instead, operators use tax burden as convenient cover for:
The tax burden is real and problematic, but it's become an excuse for anti-consumer practices that go far beyond simple tax pass-through. Operators could maintain transparent pricing even with high taxes—they choose not to because complexity generates additional revenue on top of legitimate tax burdens.
Most tellingly, none of the operators use tax transparency as a competitive advantage. If high taxes were the real issue, at least one operator would differentiate by clearly showing tax breakdowns. Their collective silence on pricing transparency suggests the tax burden serves as convenient cover for profit maximization through confusion.
The complexity isn't random. It follows a deliberate playbook:
Step 1: Fragmented Validity Periods
By offering 3-day, 5-day, 7-day, 15-day, and 30-day packages, operators make price comparison nearly impossible. A 7-day 1GB pack at ৳48 costs ৳206 monthly, while a 30-day 4GB pack at ৳399 costs ৳399 monthly—same operator, different value propositions that confuse rather than clarify.
Step 2: Speed Segregation
Operators sell the same data volume at different speeds, creating artificial scarcity. High-speed packs command premium prices while "standard" packs throttle speeds after modest usage.
Step 3: Auto-Renewal Traps
Grameenphone's PayGo service automatically charges ৳6.95 per day after pack expiration. For unaware users, this becomes ৳208 monthly for basic connectivity—more expensive than premium packages.
Step 4: Bundle Inflation
Operators mix unwanted voice minutes and SMS with data to inflate package values. Banglalink's combo packs include talk time and data—forcing customers who only need data to pay for services they won't use.
Recent public disputes between operators suggest intense competition. But this theatrical competition rarely translates to consumer benefits. Unlike India, where aggressive competition forced industry-wide price cuts, or Singapore, where regulatory mandates ensure competitive pricing, Bangladesh lacks effective mechanisms to pass competitive benefits to consumers.
The three operators maintain remarkably similar pricing structures, suggesting coordination rather than genuine competition. When one operator adjusts prices, others follow within weeks—almost always upward.
Bangladesh's telecom regulator, BTRC, has historically focused on spectrum auctions and license fees rather than consumer protection. Unlike India's TRAI, which mandates transparent tariff publication, or Singapore's IMDA, which requires simplified plan comparison tools, BTRC allows operators to maintain opaque pricing.
The regulator hasn't mandated:
This pricing complexity creates broader economic costs. Small businesses in Bangladesh pay 3-4 times more for digital connectivity than Indian counterparts, hampering productivity and innovation.
Students accessing online education face prohibitive data costs. Digital freelancers—a growing segment of Bangladesh's economy—spend excessive portions of income on basic connectivity.
Current pricing structures effectively tax digital participation, slowing the country's digital transformation when the minimum wage is only ৳12,500 per month.
Bangladesh needs systemic reform, not cosmetic adjustments। Mandate clear separation of tax and service charges on all bills. Require operators to display pre-tax and post-tax pricing side by side. Mandate standardized 30-day validity for all data packages. Require per-GB pricing disclosure on all marketing materials. Prohibit auto-renewals without explicit monthly consent. Standardize fair usage policies across operators
Several structural changes are also required. Reduce mobile service tax burden to regional levels (25-30%). Enable mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) for genuine competition. Implement number portability improvements to reduce switching costs. Establish consumer protection frameworks matching regional standards.
Finally, in the long-term, the government should rationalize spectrum fees to reduce operator cost burden. Mandate infrastructure sharing to reduce deployment costs. Implement price transparency regulations similar to Singapore's framework. Create an independent telecom pricing monitoring body.
So, what does 1GB actually cost in Bangladesh? The honest answer is: it depends on which maze you're willing to navigate, how much fine print you're prepared to read, and how many unwanted services you're willing to buy.
The reality is stark: while SIM cards cost ৳150-200, the ongoing data costs can consume significant portions of household budgets. A typical family spending ৳200 monthly on mobile data is dedicating nearly 1% of median household income to basic connectivity.
Until Bangladesh's regulators mandate genuine transparency and competition, consumers will continue paying premium prices for a basic service that should be affordable and straightforward. The complexity isn't a bug in the system—it's the entire business model.
The question isn't whether Bangladesh can afford better. It's whether the country can afford to keep its digital transformation hostage to telecom pricing complexity that serves nobody except operator profit margins.
