The government is going to set the prices of mobile internet services following the fixation of broadband internet recently.
The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) was working on it, according to Post and Telecommunication Minister Mustafa Jabbar.
"We can't let mobile internet prices go unbridled. This must be brought in order," he told the Financial Express.
He said an experts' committee was formed and it will sit with stakeholders to discuss and fix the prices of mobile internet services.
The number of mobile internet users in the country now stands at 110.90 million which showed exponential growth in the last few years.
The mobile internet users increased by 3.4 million in June last, according to the statistics of the telecom regulator.
Earlier this month, the BTRC fixed the tariffs for broadband internet all through the value chain to implement a uniform rate of internet use across the country.
The BTRC set the prices for transmission, bandwidth, and services availed by the internet service providers (ISPs) from the Nationwide Telecommunication Transmission Network (NTTN) and the International Internet Gateway (IIG) operators.
Earlier in August 2018, the regulator had fixed Tk 0.45 per minute as the uniform minimum call rate for all mobile phone operators.
Mr Jabbar said the mobile phone operators were setting the internet package prices at their sweet will. "It can't happen and will not happen."
However, he said the regulator will sit with the operators and fix the prices.
The government has taken several initiatives to fix the tariffs for mobile internet since 2013, but all the attempts have so far failed.
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