BTRC announced Thursday the cost of internet bandwidth for operators will be slashed by 33 percent, in a move designed to stimulate the telecoms sector throughout the country.

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) chairman Zia Ahmed said the move would increase the number of internet users and improve internet speeds. The regulator said mobile phone companies and internet service providers have vowed to pass on the savings to users, by providing quality services at reduced rates.

The BTRC, in a statement, said public and private internet service providers will now pay Tk 18,000 per megabit/second to the state-run Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited (BSCCL), rather than the current rate of Tk 27,000.

Bangladesh Telecommunications Company (BTCL) reduced the price of internal backhaul – from the landing station to Dhaka – while the BSCCL also agreed to reduce their fees, said the statement.

The BTCL said the decision was made in consultation with the ministry of telecommunications and private and public run service providers. Bangladesh is connected with the SE-ME-W-4 submarine cable consortium. The allotted bandwidth is 24 gigabits, although current usage remains at around 8 gigabits.

- bdnews