Out of every Tk 100 earned by mobile operators from mobile phone services, the government takes Tk 56 in taxes and fees. Analysts say past governments turned the telecommunications sector into a major source of revenue collection. Ordinary people are the victims of this policy. Operators, after paying the government and trying to maintain their own earnings, do not invest sufficiently in improving service quality. Previous governments also placed greater emphasis on revenue collection rather than reducing mobile service costs and improving quality.

Against this backdrop, World Telecommunication and Information Society Day is being observed in the country today, Sunday. This year’s theme is: “Digital Lifestyle: Stability in Connectivity, Strength in Resilience.”

The number of mobile phone users in the country is around 186.1 million (in many cases, one person uses multiple SIM cards). Mobile services are now connected to almost every aspect of people’s lives, including services, business, entertainment, and more. However, compared with neighbouring countries and economies of similar standing, Bangladesh lags behind in smartphone and internet usage.

Analysts mainly blame the high cost of smartphones and expensive mobile services for this. Operators, on the other hand, blame high taxes and fees. Tanvir Mohammad, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer of Grameenphone, told Prothom Alo that Bangladesh needs to bring telecommunications sector tax rates down to a reasonable level in order to protect consumers’ interests, ensure continuous investment, expand digital lifestyles, and reduce the digital divide. He said the country’s economy would benefit if that were done.

The government earns revenue from the telecommunications sector in two ways. One is through taxes, and the other is through various fees, including spectrum charges.