The new tariff ceilings will be applicable to all voice services and packages for all prepaid and postpaid connections, said a press release of Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC).

Irrespective of any promotion, package, operator, timing (whether peak or off-peak), pulse (whether one second or one minute), and friends and family numbers, the call charges will be bounded by a circuit between Tk 2 and Tk 0.25 per minute.

The 'interim' provisions have been made effective until further order, the release added.

If a promotion package is offered, the tariff must be same for all subscribers under the same package. Tariff variation in different geographic locations is not allowed under a same package, according to the tariff plan.

The BTRC directive said promotional tariff must be limited for a period of two consecutive months or less. If a promotional tariff continues for more than two months, that tariff will be considered permanent, the directive said.

The telecoms regulator at a meeting presided over by its Chairman Manzurul Alam on Thursday decided to set the tariff ceilings.

BTRC said Bangladesh Telecommunication Act 2001 suggests rationalisation of tariff matters.

However, cellphone operators said tariff ceilings should not be fixed by the authorities, rather the ceilings should be market-driven.

"The tariff should be determined by competition in the market," said an official of a mobile phone operator seeking anonymity.

He said it is unfortunate that authorities set tariff ceiling in the age of free market economy.

The official said the mobile phone companies have reduced call charges by almost 70 percent during the last two years, and the charges will be reduced further as usual no matter the regulator intervenes or not.

Market intervention by authorities is not a new phenomenon. In June this year, the European Union set tariff ceiling for the operators in its region.

Under the rules, operators cannot charge EU subscribers making cross-border calls within the 27-nation bloc more than 49 euro cents (66 US cents) a minute in the first year of application while receiving a call could cost no more than 24 cents.