High government taxation has made it nearly impossible to offer affordable internet services to rural communities, said industry stakeholders on Thursday.
They raised the concern during a roundtable discussion organised by the Technology Industry Policy Advocacy Platform at The Daily Star auditorium, according to a press release.
When a mobile phone user buys a Tk 100 internet package, over Tk 60 directly goes to the government, they said.
The government collects significant revenue from 10 crore mobile internet users and shows no interest in reducing internet costs, they added.
TIPAP coordinator and Bdjobs founder Fahim Mashroor moderated the discussion, which brought together representatives of leading telecom companies, internet service providers, software firms and freelancing community.
Mashroor said, 鈥楿rban areas have twice as many internet users as rural ones. While an average urban broadband user consumes 100GB of data per month, a rural user consumes only 6GB. In contrast, Indian mobile data users consume three times more data than their Bangladeshi counterparts.鈥�
He added, 鈥楾his limited mobile data usage keeps Bangladesh far behind neighbouring countries in delivering education, healthcare and essential services through the internet.鈥�
Speakers blamed excessive taxation for high mobile data prices. They said that users faced a 15 per cent VAT, a 23 per cent supplementary duty, a 2 per cent surcharge and a 6 per cent revenue-sharing cost. According to mobile operators, these taxes have more than doubled over the past decade.
Internet service providers also criticised the monopolistic practices of two government-backed companies controlling the Nationwide Telecommunication Transmission Network. These monopolies drive up data transmission costs to rural areas, they said.
Stakeholders urged the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission to allow telecom and internet service providers to manage transmission independently, which they believed would lower costs and make internet services more affordable.
Participants criticised the National Board of Revenue鈥檚 recent introduction of supplementary duties鈥�3 per cent on mobile internet and 10 per cent on broadband. They demanded an immediate repeal, arguing that the increase contradicts the spirit of the 鈥楯uly Revolution,鈥� which highlighted the importance of internet access.
Telecommunications expert and BUILDCON CEO Mahtab Uddin Ahmed, AMTOB secretary general Lieutenant Colonel (retired) Mohammad Zulfikar, Robi chief regulatory officer Shahedul Alam, Banglalink chief regulatory officer Taimur Rahman, ISPAB president Imdadul Haque, IIG Association president Aminul Hakim, former BASIS president Almas Kabir and Mobile Subscribers Association president Mohiuddin Ahmed, among others, were present at the time.
