Druknet Broadband 12 March, 2010 - In a move that would further make internet access cheaper, Druknet, the country’s largest and oldest internet service provider is considering slashing the price of its cheapest personal broadband package.
“We’re looking into reducing the Nu 399 package,” said Druknet general manager, Tshering Norbu. But he also pointed out that such a move is not confirmed and that instead the data quota could be increased. Tshering Norbu said if the rate is lowered, it would not go below Nu 300.
Currently, the Nu 399 pre-paid package allows a subscriber to transfer a maximum of 2.5 gigabytes (GB) of data within a time limit of 30 days.
The 30-day validity period has come under criticism from broadband users, who say that it prevents them from using up the quota they have paid for. In response, Tshering Norbu said the 30-day validity period is a business model that is essential for Druknet’s operation, since the company has to meet costs at the end of every month.
He said that a large quota is provided to ensure it did not finish before the validity expired. This led to subscribers claiming that Druknet is “ripping them off”. He said Druknet’s objective is to increase internet usage by Bhutanese and not to cheat them.
Tshering Norbu also claimed that Bhutan’s broadband packages are the cheapest in the South Asian region. As an example, he pointed out that the Nu .19/MB charged for additional usage on Druknet’s postpaid packages is cheaper than in India.
Meanwhile, Druknet has already lowered the costs of other services such as internet leased line and web-hosting by 10-15 percent and 20 percent respectively. Tshering Norbu said the lowering of web-hosting rates was carried out to promote local content. He said local content is lacking since web-hosting rates in Bhutan are much higher than abroad.
By Gyalsten K Dorji
