The Bhutanese Leading the way.
One of the most anticipated decisions in recent times is the mobile data cut proposed by the Bhutan Telecom (BT) which is currently with the regulator Bhutan InfoComm and Media Authority (BICMA).
BT had submitted higher cuts for lower packages and lower cuts for higher packages. The BT said it could not give the full 50% across the board data discount asked by the government as it would firstly lead to a higher congestion due to higher usage, and secondly it would impact its financial sustainability.
The BT in its initial submission has pointed out that its network utilization data is already around 70% and a sudden jump in usage would lead to congestion. Network utilization data is the measurement of the percentage of a network’s total capacity that is currently in use by data traffic.
This was BT’s reason given for its differentiated data cut packages instead of the government’s request of a 50% flat discount.
Internationally, a network utilization data of above 70% means that it can cause congestion and higher latency affecting performance.
More time has been taken as BICMA decided not to take everything at the face value given by BT, but to run its own independent assessment from that of BT to see if there really would be congestion.
This is in the context of BT offering a data cut less than what the government wants.
BICMA has been asking for more data from BT and is doing its own independent assessment to see if BT has enough capacity in place to carry the enhanced load when the data cuts are given.
BT has taken some time for that information to be collected and submitted.
While BT is claiming there will be network congestion, BICMA will also factor in the reality that BT will have to anyhow upgrade its network once usage goes up and that is another area of study.
BICMA, as the regulator, will have to ensure that the data reduction does not lead to a reduction in the quality of service on one hand, and on the other hand ensure a fair price. BICMA will also have to see data speed and network availability.
BICMA is not only looking at the hardware but also the software, and the larger infrastructure to get a full picture.
Another area that BICMA is looking at is the financial impact, in terms of the sustainability of the company.
A source said that BICMA is expected to finish its review by the end of September and then a decision will be available.
Some popular BT data packages are Nu 49, Nu 99, Nu 199, Nu 299 and Nu 499 which are used most by the people. The proposal by BT is to give a higher discount of under 50% to this group, which means a higher data of under 50% for this group.
The higher data packages of Nu 699, Nu 799, Nu 999 is proposed by BT to get a much more moderate discount which may even be half of what the lower packages get.
The logic is that those who take a higher data package, be it pre-paid or post-paid, already get a higher natural discount with the per unit cost being lower for those with higher packages.
The DHI and BT proposal is not just for pre-paid data, but there are also cuts in postpaid data, and a cut has also been proposed for lease line rates to compete with Starlink and TashiCell.
The current postpaid schemes start from Nu 199 and go to Nu 3,999 per month. The current lease line rate is Nu 550 per Mbps but one needs a minimum of two Mbps to get a line. There will be a major change in this rate too.
