No solution at present for overpriced internet: Minister Fayyaz

Minister of Economic Development and acting minister of the Ministry of Communications, Science and Technology Fayyaz Ismail has stated that there are no solutions presently for overpriced internet in the Maldives.

Fayyaz made the statement in response to comments made by State Minister of Technology Ali Solih in relation to President Solih's campaign pledge to provide affordable internet to residents of the Maldives.

State Minister Ali Solih had stated that the prices for internet connections had been brought down as per the President's presidential pledge, following which both he and the government have received criticism for the claims. State Minister Ali Solih had made the remarks in an appearance on Raajje TV's "Fala Surukhee" programme, going on to clarify that it was possible to purchase 180GBs of data in the Maldives for MVR,1000. This is technically possible under Ooreedoo's Achaa Prepaid service, which allows users conditional 3GB of regular usage and 3GB of social media every day under the data package.

While State Minister Ali Solih's remarks have seen criticism for him and the government online, residents across the Maldives have been raising questions about the overpriced and ineffective internet services available since before the incumbent administration made pledges regarding the price of internet.

In a tweet posted on Friday evening, Minister Fayyaz Ismail noted that while there have been some reductions on the prices of internet packages, it had been without intervention on behalf of the government and was therefore trivial. Minister Fayyaz also declared that significant regulatory changes would be made within the coming days in order to reduce the cost of internet.