'Free' Facebook package closed, also because of revenue

Revenue collection is also a major factor behind the Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission's (BTRC) directive to discontinue free internet packages on social media.

The government has set a limit of 5 percent of the company's total promotional expenditure in the current budget for the current fiscal year 2020-21. Operators are also not showing any objection to curb the free offer.


Although the use of internet has increased during the Corona period, the government's revenue is not increasing from there. As a result, the government's revenue will also increase if the free offer is curbed. All in all, the idea of ​​increasing revenue has also limited free internet access, sources said.

Customers in the country would get the opportunity to use various social media including Facebook by buying another package for free or almost free with internet package. BTRC has pulled the reins there.
According to a letter from the Information Ministry, the BTRC said in a directive sent to the operators on Tuesday that free internet would no longer be available. This leads to unhealthy competition in the market and many people use these free packages to commit 'unnecessary criminal' activities.

The BTRC letter gave a date of July 14, but the operators said they received it on July 16. The letter called for the directive to be implemented from July 15 (last Wednesday).
Meanwhile, Grameenphone, the top mobile operator in terms of subscribers, announced in an announcement on their recognized Facebook page on Saturday that they have stopped all free offers related to Facebook.

Below that Grameenphone post, a customer wants to know if there was any such free offer. In response, Grameenphone said, one gigabyte of Facebook data was free with 165 minutes for 110 rupees. Such offers will no longer exist.
Robi Axiata, the second top operator, has also implemented the BTRC guidelines. In a statement to the media today, Robi's Chief Corporate and Regulatory Officer Shahed Alam said, Because according to the budget guidelines for the current fiscal year 2020-21, the amount of promotional expenditure of a company cannot exceed 0.5% of its total income. According to this guideline, it is naturally difficult for a company like ours to incur any cost based on free offer.

Prior to the budget for the current fiscal year 2020-21, there was no limit on the company's promotional expenditure. The new restrictions have blocked the way for companies to offer free products or services. Can still be given for free. However, if it is more than zero point five percent of the total revenue, tax will have to be paid for the extra part. The corporate tax rate in the telecommunications sector is 45 percent.

According to BTRC, at the end of May, the number of Internet users in the country stood at just over 10 crore 21 lakh. 8 million broadband internet subscribers. In this case, the internet service providers claim that there are more than 4 customers for each connection.
94 million subscribers using mobile internet, which was 95.2 million at the end of March. Note that once you enter the Internet once in 90 days, he is considered a user.
Although the use of internet on mobile phones has increased a lot during the Corona period, the government is not getting additional revenue from the telecommunication sector. This is because the revenue of the operators has decreased. Operators, on the other hand, were attracting customers with bonuses or large packages at relatively low prices.
For example, in the second quarter of this year (April-June), mobile operator Grameenphone earned revenue of Tk 3,307 crore, which is 2 percent less than the same period last year.

During the period under review, one Grameenphone subscriber used 2.54 GB of internet, which is about 17percent more than the previous quarter. However, Grameenphone did not increase its income from this extra use. In the current quarter, a Grameenphone subscriber has spent an average of Rs 69 per month on the Internet, which is Rs 2 less than the previous quarter.
According to Grameenphone's financial statement, the average revenue per subscriber in the first quarter of this year (January-March) was Rs 156 per month. During April-June, it dropped to Tk 146.
As a result, the government naturally gets less revenue. Because 52 to 56 percent of what the operator earns goes to the government treasury.
For additional revenue, the government has increased the supplementary duty on mobile services by 5 percent in the current fiscal year 2020-21. As a result, if a customer spends 100 rupees on talking and texting, 25 rupees goes to the government house. And the government gets about 18 rupees on the internet.
The operator says that due to Corona, people's income is declining and partly due to the increase in taxes, their revenue is declining. As a result, the government could get an additional revenue of Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,200 by raising taxes on mobile services, if usage is not reduced. If it is reduced, such additional revenue will not be available. Many will now face additional costs as a result of the free offer being discontinued.

So many customers are not happy to stop offering free. A reader named Akbar Ali wrote under the news of Prothom Alo on Friday that the government will get tax if it buys with money. It's a lot of money.