Mobile data users in Bhutan could soon see cheaper internet packages, with an independent costing study finding that the country’s telecom operators have room to reduce data tariffs as consumption continues to rise sharply.
The Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Employment (MoICE) is preparing to place before the Cabinet the findings of a mobile data costing study commissioned by the Bhutan InfoComm and Media Authority (BICMA). The report, prepared with the involvement of international consultants, examines the actual cost of providing mobile data services and the extent to which Bhutan Telecom (BT) and TashiCell can lower their tariffs.
BICMA recently submitted the completed study to the ministry, which is expected to present both the findings and recommendations to the Cabinet shortly. A final decision on the scale, timing and mechanism of any tariff reduction will rest with the Cabinet.
The study provides what officials say is a much firmer empirical basis for reducing mobile data prices than was available in the past.
One of its most significant findings is the extraordinary growth in mobile data consumption over the last seven years.
Data traffic on BT’s B-Mobile network increased from around 13,500 terabytes (TB) in 2018 to almost 119,000 TB in 2025. TashiCell recorded a similarly steep increase, from approximately 5,700 TB to more than 43,500 TB during the same period.
The rapid increase in traffic has implications for pricing because, as networks carry larger volumes of data, the underlying cost of delivering each gigabyte progressively declines.
The costing exercise, however, shows considerable differences between the country’s two mobile operators.
For B-Mobile, the model estimates the cost of providing one GB of data at around Nu 46 based on the 2025 cost structure, falling further to about Nu 36 in 2026. This compares with an effective consumer rate of approximately Nu 76 per GB under its Nu 99 data package.
For TashiCell, the estimated cost is higher, at around Nu 77 per GB based on the 2025 cost base and Nu 63 in 2026.
The difference suggests that while there is scope for lower mobile data prices, a uniform reduction imposed identically on both operators may not necessarily reflect their respective network economics. B-Mobile, according to the costing model, has substantially greater headroom for tariff reductions.
A source familiar with the exercise said the assessment went well beyond simply comparing existing tariffs with the cost of bandwidth.
The study examined growth in data consumption alongside changes in subscriber numbers, the operators’ books of accounts, investments in network infrastructure, returns on investment, profit after tax, the possibility of reducing bandwidth costs, network congestion and other operational factors.
According to the source, earlier discussions on reducing mobile data tariffs were largely driven by government expectations without a sufficiently detailed costing benchmark to determine how far prices could realistically be lowered.
The latest exercise changes that.
The source said the findings provide a stronger basis to conclude that the government’s expectation of reducing data prices substantially — including cuts of around half for packages up to Nu 499 — is achievable.
With the costing evidence now available and depending on the government’s eventual policy decision, BICMA would also have a clearer regulatory basis to determine and enforce tariffs considered fair to consumers.
Bhutan Telecom has so far expressed reservations about steep reductions in data prices. The company has maintained that sharp tariff cuts could affect profitability, its ability to sustain investments and services, and potentially create network congestion as cheaper data encourages heavier consumption.
BT had proposed an alternative approach involving free talk time combined with more modest reductions in data charges. The proposal, however, was not accepted by the government.
The costing study is therefore likely to become central to the next stage of the debate. While it strengthens the case for consumers paying less for mobile internet, it also highlights that the financial and network circumstances of BT and TashiCell are not identical.
The question before the government is consequently no longer simply whether mobile data prices can be reduced, but by how much, how quickly and under what tariff structure.
Those answers are now expected to emerge after the Cabinet considers the ministry’s recommendations.
