Although most customers opt for data packages with a three-day validity, the telecom regulator is removing the option as a safeguard against "cheating". 

According to Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), 69.23 percent of data packages that customers purchase come with a three-day validity, 16.84 percent with a seven-day validity, 3.82 percent with a 15-day validity, and 10.11 percent with a 30-day validity.

"Business (of the operators) should have a limit. You cannot survive by cheating while doing business. Consumers are confused by short-term, innumerable packages," said Telecom Minister Mustafa Jabbar.

He was speaking at a press conference at the BTRC office in Dhaka yesterday on the regulator's new directive on data packages.

On September 3, the BTRC issued a directive, slated to take effect from October 15, discontinuing internet data packages with three-day and 15-day validities as well as downsizing the number of packages to 40.

The move has been met with opposition from both operators and experts, who believe that it restricts consumer choices and imposes higher costs on grassroots, low-income, and young users.

Brig Gen Md Nasim Parvez, director general at the BTRC, said while the majority of customers opt for 3-day validity packages, fraudulence has been observed centring this package.

This involves enticing customers with offers of more data at a lower cost over a short period of time, which often results in customers being unable to fully utilise the higher data allowance within the three-day period, he said.

This situation leads to intense customer dissatisfaction, as they end up losing unused data purchased with their own money, he added.

The BTRC is working in accordance with the responsibilities delineated under the telecommunication act and it takes into account interests of both operators and customers, said Shyam Sunder Sikder, chairman of the BTRC.

The BTRC's own analysis reveals that customers prefer three-day data packages, said Mohammad Zulfikar, secretary general at the Association of Mobile Telecom Operators of Bangladesh.

Discontinuing these packages will not only curtail the operators' business opportunities but also significantly restrict customers' choices, he said, urging the commission to reconsider and revise the directive.