Tk500 broadband connection speed doubles to 10 Mbps
Millions of residential users paying Tk500 per month for a 5 Mbps shared connection will enjoy 10 Mbps speed at the same price
Highlights:
- Tk500 per month for a 5 megabits per second (Mbps) shared connection will enjoy 10 Mbps speed at same price
- Broadband users having dedicated connections, however, will not enjoy any bonus speed
- Minimum broadband speed could be brought to 20 Mbps with regulatory support
The Internet Service Providers Association of Bangladesh (ISPAB) has doubled the speed for residential internet users having the cheapest shared broadband connections.
Millions of residential users paying Tk500 per month for a 5 megabits per second (Mbps) shared connection will enjoy 10 Mbps speed at the same price, ISPAB President Md Emdadul Hoque announced at a roundtable with the representatives of the government, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), and stakeholders in Dhaka today.
This is a positive gesture from the country's internet service providers, showing they are in line with the government's drive to increase the quality of internet and to reduce prices, Emdadul Hoque told The Business Standard after the meeting.
He also said the minimum for broadband internet should be at least 20 Mbps, and to realise it, the association members sought several regulatory support.
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Allowing maximum sharing of unutilised resources, lowering wholesale bandwidth price to Tk150 per Mbps instead of the multi-slab rates that now go above Tk350 for small service providers, and fixing transmission capacity charge at Tk5 per Mbps are among the proposals.
ISPAB also sought exclusive rights to do the fixed broadband internet business.
Broadband users having dedicated connections, however, will not enjoy any bonus speed, said Emdadul.
Around 65% of the 1.4 crore fixed broadband connections will be benefited from the speed enhancement, he estimates.
Following the association announcement yesterday morning, ISPAB members started implementing it, informed its President.
Subscribers of other shared broadband connections like 10 Mbps at Tk800 per month, 20 Mbps at Tk1,200 per month will also enjoy higher speed gradually, said Emdadul Hoque.
Poor speed is a common complaint from the users of shared broadband connections and mobile internet.
The BTRC in its 2021 regulations allowed internet service providers to share a dedicated internet capacity among not more than eight customers.
Past internet shutdowns seriously hampered investment: Faiz Taiyeb
Chief Adviser's Special Assistant Faiz Ahmed Taiyeb, who is also the acting head of the Posts and Telecommunications Division, today announced that all policies allowing internet shutdowns will be abolished, as past shutdowns have harmed freelancers and deterred investment in the country.
"We need to demonstrate to the world that the internet will no longer be shut down. It is a responsibility to assure investors," he said.
He said internet services in Bangladesh remain among the most expensive in the world, despite their comparatively poor quality.
"We still lack dedicated internet infrastructure for education, healthcare, and disaster management.
Therefore, we cannot yet consider ourselves aligned with global standards. Our first step is to change the network topology," Taiyeb said.
The special assistant further announced plans to revoke multiple licenses, limiting the number of licensees. Operators will be given time to meet the required conditions, failing which fines will be imposed, Taiyeb added.
To ensure affordability, ISPAB proposed introducing active sharing, extending license tenure to 10 years, enhancing IIG and NTTN capacity, allowing access to government infrastructure, and exempting profit-sharing for five years.
Welcoming the ISPs' efforts to reduce prices, the chief adviser's special assistant said, "If you can provide 10 Mbps at the same price, you can offer 20 Mbps too. You must monitor this yourselves."
Faiz acknowledged that Bangladesh lags behind in global rankings on internet affordability and e-governance. To address this, the new network topology will be structured into three layers. Rather than limiting the number of licenses, performance-based KPIs will be introduced, and deregulation will begin from June, he mentioned.
He also emphasised the need to eliminate political influence in the telecom business and boost digital services, saying, "All barriers to these services will be removed, and active sharing will be facilitated."
"All telecom fibre networks in metro areas must be fully underground within three years," he said, adding that Bangladesh aims to rank within the top 30 globally on all relevant indices within the next two years.
Taiyeb warned that attempts to manipulate policy updates through vested interests "will ultimately lead to their own downfall".
Addressing the issue of Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM), he clarified that Bangladesh is not regressing. "We want to send a message—do business, but don't seek favours from politicians or influencers. We want Voice over WiFi to launch quickly and bring connectivity indoors to ensure quality."
He also stressed the need for telecom-grade fibre networks, saying, "Overhead fibre cannot be considered telecom-grade. All fibre must go underground."
Despite being a top 35 economy, Bangladesh's ranking in the major telecommunications indexes hover around 100, he said, adding that the government and BTRC is working to ascend to top 30 in the next two years.
