BANGLADESH BANS ISSUANCE OF FREE DATA TO SUBSCRIBERS
The Bangladesh Telecom Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has issued orders for the telecom companies to stop free internet services to its subscribers for accessing social media.
The regulatory authority asked the telecom service providers to stop the service because it gives rise to unhealthy competition between the companies. The BTRC order also said that this facility was being used by some people for carrying out criminal activities on the social media.
BTRC issued the order after it was instructed by the information ministry to ensure safe internet and maintain normal market competition. The telecom companies have started implementing the order from Friday.
The four telecom companies of Bangladesh Grameenphone, Robi Axiata, Banglalink and Teletalk Bangladesh provide totally or partially free services to access social media to its subscribers under various plans.
The number of internet users in Bangladesh is above 102 million as in May. 94 million people access the internet on mobile devices.
Bangladesh is one of the largest internet markets in Asia with more than 100 million online users.
Technology companies such as Facebook and Twitter have struck partnerships, more popularly known as zero-rating deals, with telecom operators and other internet providers in several markets in the past decade to make their services free to users to accelerate growth. Typically, tech companies bankroll the cost of data consumption of users as part of these deals.
In Bangladesh, such zero-rating deals have been popular for several years, said Ahad Mohammad, chief executive of Bongo, an on-demand streaming service (Extra Crunch membership required), in an interview with TechCrunch.
Grameenphone and Robi Axiata, two of the largest telecom operators in Bangladesh, enable their mobile subscribers to access a handful of services of their partners even when their phones have run out of credit. Both telecom firms have said they are in the process to comply with Dhaka’s order. Other zero rating deals remain in effect, a person familiar with the matter said.
It remains unclear whether Free Basics, a program run by Facebook in dozens of markets through which it offers unlimited access to select services at no cost, will continue its presence in Bangladesh after the nation’s order. Facebook relies on telecom networks to offer data access for its Free Basics program.
In Bangladesh, Facebook struck deals with Grameenphone and Robi Axiata, according to its official website, where Facebook continues to identify Bangladesh among dozens of markets where Free Basics is operational.
(DD News & TechCrunch)
