Mobile phone operators are cheating with internet packages. People are being held hostage by money. Misleading people by leaving small, medium packages in the market. Grabbing hundreds of millions of rupees. Net is shutting down before the package expires. It is said that there is no money. Again after a little use it says Megabyte (MB) is over. There is no answer to how it ends. In the era of 5G, 3G is not available in the capital itself. Twoji runs in many important spots of the capital. 30 days of Tk 499 Internet, after watching YouTube for 10 minutes, the net is over. Again, after spending 100 rupees on internet recharge of 500 rupees, the remaining 400 rupees net disappeared at the end of the period. No one can tell where it went.
Regulatory body BTRC says that the launch of 5G will improve the quality of internet service. But there is no master plan on how to grow. In the meantime, the government has canceled the widely used two packages of 15 and 3 days. It is being said that the operators are grabbing hundreds of crores of rupees behind these two packages even if the internet is not used. But after the cancellation, it was seen that the loss was reversed for the customers. Operators have increased the price of all packages on this occasion. Consumers complain that almost all internet packages are now double in price. Allegations have been made against Grameenphone, Banglalink, Robi and state-owned mobile phone operator Teletalk.
Grameenphone customer Mominul Haque complained that he recharged Tk 89 and took a package of 1GB from Grameenphone. The condition was that this one GB will be valid for 7 days and as a bonus you will get 1 GB of 4G internet, which will be valid for one month. But he was told that within 5 days all his internet is over. He did not get any answer as to how the two GB internet ended. He did not download or upload any kind. Checked mail, Facebook and browsed 2-3 news portals.
Another person named Aminul Islam complained that he recharged Tk 16 and bought 1 GB internet for two days only to view Facebook. To buy it, he deducted Rs. 4 more from his account. Still he could not use this internet. In the meantime two days have expired. As a result, he was forced to take a new package.
A person from Mohammadpur named Delwar Hussain said that the operators are not only cheating on the packages, but have also increased the prices of all the packages. The price of 2 GB package for 15 days of Teletalk is Tk 17. Now this package has been cancelled. The price of 1 GB package for 3 days was Tk 23. This too has been cancelled. The price of 7 days 1 GB package was Tk 27. Now it has been increased to 46 rupees. The price of 1 GB for 30 days was Tk 49. Now it has been increased to 83 rupees. Earlier there was an unlimited package of 25 GB for Rs 370. Now its price has been increased to 629 rupees. Thus, the internet price of all packages of Teletalk has been increased. An internet package user of Rs 500 per month is now spending around Rs 1,000. That is, the price of all packages has doubled. In this way, mobile phone operators are constantly cheating people. Customers have to pay extra money by being hostage to them. No service in return. A customer named Sajedur Rahman said that internet has to be bought on prepaid basis. Paying money first then net. During use it appears that the signal is not received properly. Sometimes it becomes two. Can’t be used then.
Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Minister Mustafa Jabbar said that all those who use the Internet have similar complaints. Ordinary consumers are terribly angry about the Internet. According to them, ‘common people have fallen into a kind of maze with the Internet. Opening a file takes up several megabytes. Even if it is closed again, the Internet is decreasing! The condition of the customer is falling in the circle of spending money in the name of these different packages and internet.’
The minister said, ‘The operators have increased the price of the seven-day package. They can’t do that. It was not right to do it before the election. I hope the operators will understand. They will not increase internet prices in reducing 95 packages to 40. Rather, the price will decrease.
In response to the question of when the price of data will be reduced and how much will it be reduced, Mustafa Jabbar said, I have given immediate instructions that the price of the 3-day package will remain the same as before October 14, but the duration will be 7 days. Also, the price of 1 month internet data pack should be kept as it was earlier. The minister said, I want to set a fixed price for internet data. I have already started working towards that goal. Hopefully I can do it soon.
President of Mobile Phone Consumers Association Mohiuddin Ahmed said, when there was talk of reducing the internet package, we said that the price will increase and the customer will suffer. We also gave a memorandum to Sajeeb Wazed Joy, ICT Advisor to the government, so that the internet package should not be reduced. We want the government to fix the price of internet data like the price of daily commodities.
According to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), there is some confusion in the names of multiple packages. They have taken the initiative to regulate these packages. A committee has been formed which will look at the type of package and recommend what kind of package should be kept.
Officials of the regulatory agency BTRC said that most of the complaints received by consumers are related to the Internet, especially the complaints of cutting megabytes.
Why so many packages? In response, Grameenphone recently said that its internet packages are tailored based on customer needs. Each package is popular according to the needs of different customers. They release all the packages in the market with the approval of BTRC. Their claim regarding complaints of running out of internet data without any reason, they can take action if they receive specific complaints in this regard.
Customers complain that 3 and 15 days data packages have been dropped despite being popular. In this opportunity, mobile operators are selling data at high prices in the name of package updates. Analyzing the number of packages, it can be seen that currently there is a package of 7 and 30 days and unlimited.
It is said that the decision to reduce the package has been taken to remove customer dissatisfaction but the actual picture is opposite. 1 GB data for 3 days was available at Tk 42 earlier but now its price is Tk 68. Operators say prices have been adjusted over time.
On the other hand, BTRC argued that the amount of data provided in the three-day package is not used at all. Because of that, extending the term will benefit the customer. However, the operators have increased the price on this opportunity to extend the period.
Grameenphone customer Himu Ahmed, a resident of Dhaka, told Jugantar that my expenses have increased in the 7-day package they are offering. But the usage is the same as before.
Aminul Islam, a dentist who receives Robi’s services, told Jugantar that the market for daily products is on the upswing. Monthly expenses have increased manifold. At this time, spending extra money behind the internet is ‘a blow to the neck’. He said, I used to buy a package of 400 minutes and 25 GB for 573 rupees for a period of 30 days. Currently it costs 650 rupees to buy the same package. In other words, 77 taka more has to be counted in one month.
The same is the case with the three private mobile operators Grameenphone, Robi, Banglalink. University student Riyad Hossain said that earlier he used to buy Banglalink’s 7-day 2GB internet package for Tk 69. Now they are giving only 1 GB in that package.
On the other hand, talking to various retailers, it is known that after reducing the mobile package, customers have also reduced their recharge.
Rampura retailer Shashi Telecom owner Md. Sajjad said, although many internet customers came for recharge earlier, this rate has decreased within a month. Rustam Ali, the owner of Molla Telecom, a recharge business in Kawran Bazar, said that the load of customers has decreased a lot. Earlier many people used to come to get 3 days internet pack. Costs have gone up by half.
Tags: Manipulation increasing price extending term
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