Per minute call charge of using mobile phone service of Grameenphone is set to increase as they have been declared as the significant market power (SMP) operator, telecom ministry decided in a meeting today.

The decision has come up in a meeting which was attended by Prime Minister's ICT Advisor Sajeeb Wazed Joy and presided by the telecom minister Mustafa Jabbar today in the telecom division.

So Grameenphone's minimum call rate will be increased as part of the restrictions of being declared a significant market power (SMP) operator, Jabbar told The Daily Star.

The SMP is a regulation that imposes restrictions on an operator once it corners 40 percent of the subscribers, revenues and spectrum.

On February 11, the telecom regulator declared Grameenphone as SMP.

"Without restricting the price none can check them," said Jabbar.

And the meeting have not finalised how much the charge will increase.

Currently, the minimum call rate for operators is Tk 0.45 for each minute and after adding the value-added tax and other duties the charge goes up to Tk 0.54 for a minute to any operator.

However, Grameenphone is already charging higher than the market average at Tk 0.70 per minute.