On June 6, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), fixed the maximum tariff for broadband internet across the country at Tk 500 a month for using a broadband connection with a minimum internet speed of 5 Mbps. For 10 Mbps, the rate would be Tk 800 to Tk 1,000, and for 20 Mbps, Tk 1,100 to Tk 1,200, and so on.
The landmark decision to fix the rate of broadband connection across the country came after a series of meetings with operators of the International Internet Gateway, Nationwide Telecommunication Transmission Network, International Terrestrial Cable, and internet service providers. But behind the scenes, the credit goes to a small community of freelancers in Kushtia who have been campaigning for internet equality for the last 5 years or so. This is their story.