Malé, Maldives – Minister of Environment, Climate Change and Technology, Aminath Shauna has said that the in the present climate, internet is a basic need.
The Tech. Minister said this at a speech commemorating the reduction of internet prices in the Maldives this morning. Minister Shauna said that especially at a time like this, during the Covid-19 pandemic, where everyone is forced to distance from each other, internet has become a necessity.
Reducing the price of internet was one of the most important vows made by the President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih when he came into power.
Referring to this, Minister Shauna said that today marks a milestone after much effort and discussion to fulfill President Solih’s vow to reduce internet prices. She also thanked the tech industry for their feedback in bringing the changes.
The internet [throttles] by the middle of the month. The services drop to the point, can’t even open Gmail or download a photo from the family Viber group.
Minister Shauna
The Tech. Minister highlighted that since internet is not limited to residential households, mobile broadband services will also see a significant change. She thanked the internet service providers, Dhiraagu and Ooredoo for the positive change.
Tweet text: “As per today’s announcement, residential internet packages will have a significant drop in prices. And the throttle issue, after data allowances are finished, will also have a good solution.”
The government has reduced broadband prices to,
- 30GB at the speed of 5MBPS for MVR 250
- 100GB at the speed of 15MBPS for MVR 500
- 200GB at the speed of 25MBPS for MVR 700
The throttle speeds for broadband cannot be lower than 2Mbps in the Maldives. In addition, for packages above MVR 300, the throttle speed is not to decrease below 5Mbps.
Residential internet package prices are to decrease by 28 to 30 percent starting July 1 while mobile data changes are set go into effect from October 1.
