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Bdnews24.com The caretaker government has decided to cut BTTB call rates in the face of stiff competition from mobile and private landline operators, an official said Tuesday.
The decision will allow Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board subscribers to make local calls for as little as 10 paisa a minute, in addition to providing customers with free dialup internet connections.
The finance ministry approved a proposal for the changes on Sunday.
"The finance ministry has approved a telecoms ministry proposal regarding the reduction of BTTB call rates," telecoms secretary Iqbal Mahmood told bdnews24.com.
"BTTB will implement the new call rates soon," Mahmood said.
He added that a number of other initiatives are being considered to improve BTTB services, which would maintain the operator's position in the market.
The new rates will charge local calls at Tk 0.10 a minute during off-peak hours. During peak hours, the rate will be Tk 0.15 a minute.
Inter-district calls during peak hours will now cost one taka per minute, while off-peak hours will see a rate of Tk 0.70 per minute.
Local call rates are currently charged at Tk 1.50 per unit, where a unit during peak-hours within a district is calculated at seven minutes, and at 10 minutes during off-peak hours.
In multi-exchange and divisional towns, peak hours are calculated at five minutes a unit, and at eight minutes a unit during off-peak hours.
Peak hours are from eight in the morning until eight in the evening.
Under the new tariffs, a call placed from a BTTB phone to a private land phone operator will cost Tk 0.80 per minute during peak hours, and at Tk 0.70 off-peak.
Calls from BTTB users to mobile phones will be charged Tk 1.00 a minute during normal hours, while the rate is Tk 0.70 a minute off-peak.
Line rental fees will not be reduced, although subscribers can talk free in specified times in the month.
In Dhaka and Chittagong, 50 minutes of free talk time will be available with a monthly line rent of Tk 80.
In divisional towns with monthly line rents of Tk 70, free calls will be allowed for up to 100 minutes. At the upazila level, the line rental is Tk 50 a month, with 100 minutes of free talk time.
The move will also see fees for new connections reduced. They have been fixed at Tk 1,000 in Dhaka, with a further Tk 1,000 needed in security deposit.
In Chittagong, the fees for a new connection will be Tk 500, with a deposit of a further Tk 500. At other district and upazila levels, the connection fee will be Tk 300, with a deposit of Tk 300.
The revised charges compare with earlier connection fees in Dhaka and Chittagong of Tk 5,860.
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