Govt. announces much awaited internet price changes in Maldives

The government of the Maldives has announced changes to the internet prices in the nation, in addition to changes to the throttle speeds. 

The changes to the residential internet speeds are: 

• 30GB allowance for MVR 250 - 5MPBS (Throttle speed 2MBPS)
• 100GB allowance for MVR 500 - 15MPBS (Throttle speed 5MBPS)
• 200GB allowance for MVR 700 - 25MPBS (Throttle speed 5MBPS)

The government said the changes would see a 60-75 percent reduction in internet prices as well as twice the throttle speed than before. Currently, the average throttle speed is 1-2MBPS. 

The price changes are to take effect in phases. In the first phase, a 28-30 percent reduction in residential internet services will take effect for Dhiraagu and Ooredoo customers. In the second phase which is to come into effect in October, mobile broadband services will see changes. 

The government said that the changes to the internet prices bring benefits for school students, medium usage customers, audio and video conferencing purposes as well as ICT sector workers. 

The government said that throttle speeds would not drop lower than 5MBPS for packages above MVR 300. 

Furthermore, the government also said that it will be working to implement these changes in the remainder of 2021. The government will be monitoring the quality of services as well as internet speeds, and will also enhance the regulatory framework in addition to regulating the quality and speeds of internet services. 

Lastly, the government said that it will work even further to bring about even better prices and services in the next three years with constructive dialogue with internet service providers.