SINCE the introduction of uniform minimum call rate on Monday, users have been arguing that their charges for mobile phone calls have gone up than before. News media reported that many on-net users see a sharp rise in their telecommunication expenses at maximum 80 per cent, which goes against the vision of Digital Bangladesh. Families that had been using the same carrier to keep call costs down and to take advantage of the friends and family facility offered by most operators were hit the hardest, as their off-net calls could not offset the high on-net cost. Without making users conscious and taking feedback from the users, the new policy would be backfiring in the context of the prime objective of the flat rate.
However, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) said subscribers of smaller carriers would get benefit from the flat minimum call rate. The regulator said the uniform rate aims to establish a level playing field for all carriers would protect subscribers from bill shocks after phone number portability is enabled. Meanwhile, mobile operators said in most cases the call charge decreased than the previous time. But the market leader Grameen Phone has set the minimum flat rate higher than the other operators that hardly bring any advantage for the service users.
It is simply unwanted that the BTRC had not surveyed the market or consulted with experts before introducing the flat call rate system. Even one operator increased the off-net call rates, which was supposed to decrease. Experts question the intention of the flat charge as the dissatisfaction over mobile operators’ service is high. But the government without fixing the issues administered minimum flat rate effective from August 15. It is unaccepted that the BTRC is disinclined in counting the benefit of the maximum clients of mobile phone operators. We ask the BTRC to revise the policy thus maximum clients can get maximum benefits of the call charge change.
