Govt to negotiate with telcos to reduce data costs

Sherab Lhamo

Internet data charges in Bhutan are among the highest in Asia – $0.71 (59 Nuer) per gigabyte (GB) for an 8GB data package.

This is according to the 2023 Digital Economy Development and Transformation Strategy Report released by the United Nations Development Programme and GovTech.

Bhutan is second only to Myanmar, with data charges coming to $0.99 per GB for an 8GB data package.

India’s Reliance Jio’s 30GB data package is priced as low as $0.12 (Ngultrum 10) per GB.

The cheapest data plan is in Cambodia – $0.1 for a 15GB data package.

The report compared eight Asian countries: Bhutan, Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Vietnam, Myanmar and Cambodia.

During yesterday’s parliamentary question and answer session, the Prime Minister said that there are 760,000 SIM card users in the country, which is more than the country’s population.

According to Lyonchhen, Bhutan Telecom currently has 490,000 subscribers and Tashicell has 270,000 subscribers.

The Prime Minister said Bhutan Telecom’s annual revenue is Nu 6 billion and after deducting taxes and other expenses, its profit is Nu 2.5 billion.

For fixed broadband, there are 12,000 users, mainly in offices and businesses.

When asked how and when the government will reduce data charges by 50% or bring it on par with India’s level,” asked Kengkhar Weringla MP Dorji Wangmo.

To address the problem, the prime minister said he would negotiate with the two telecom operators this year to reduce call minutes, data charges and internet costs.

The prime minister said the government might allow a new telecom company to be formed if the talks do not go as planned. “We think that two companies are enough for a country like ours, but if they cannot reduce costs, we have to look for other solutions.”

The Prime Minister also shared the idea of ​​introducing a third internet gateway, including Starlink.

The prime minister said Starlink is expected to significantly reduce the cost of internet in the country.

Starlink provides broadband internet via satellites owned by US aerospace company Space X.