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 (TIPAP) 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.
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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 the freelancing community.
Mashroor said, "Urban 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.”
He added, "This limited mobile data usage keeps Bangladesh far behind neighbouring countries in delivering education, healthcare, and essential services through the internet."
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Speakers blamed excessive taxation for high mobile data prices. They said that users face a 15% VAT, a 23% supplementary duty, a 2% surcharge, and a 6% 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 (NTTN). These monopolies drive up data transmission costs to rural areas, they also said.
Stakeholders urged the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) to allow telecom and internet service providers to manage transmission independently, which they believe would lower costs and make internet services more affordable.
Participants criticized the National Board of Revenue’s recent introduction of supplementary duties—3% on mobile internet and 10% on broadband. They demanded an immediate repeal, arguing that the increase contradicts the spirit of the "July Revolution," which highlighted the importance of internet access.
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Telecommunications expert and BUILDCON CEO Mahtab Uddin Ahmed, AMTOB Secretary General Lt Col (retd) Mohammad Zulfikar, Robi’s Chief Regulatory Officer Shahedul Alam, Banglalink’s 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, were present at the time, among others.