Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)– The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission has set the maximum charge for mobile operators for person-to-person short massage service at BDT 0.50 per SMS with effect from August 15 this year.
The telecom regulator also cut down the maximum charge for text messaging in case of value added services as well as text messaging abroad.
“We’ve asked six cell phone operators to slash down the SMS charge as the exiting charge is little bit expensive compared to the voice service, although transmitting an SMS does not cost extra,’ BTRC chairman Zia Ahmed told New Age, a local newspaper, on Thursday.
The mobile users, who now pay a minimum of BDT 0.40 to a maximum of BDT 2.0 for one person-to-person SMS, will pay a maximum of BDT 0.50 per SMS to operators from August 15.
A cell phone user will pay a maximum BDT 2.0 for sending SMS to a designated short code of an operator to enjoy any value added service against existing maximum charge of BDT 15 for such a person-to-business SMS.
The cell phone operators would be able to charge maximum BDT 2.5 for each SMS in case of sending it to any users abroad.
According to estimates of cell phone operators, more than 20 million of SMS are exchanged in a day, which double during different festivals.
The number of mobile users in the country reached nearly 60 million at the end of the last financial year after the six operators added 13.29 million subscribers in FY 2009-10.
BBN/SSR/SI/AD-08Aug10-11:04 am (BST)
