Regulator puts the brakes on CyTA call rate cuts

Telecommunications Regulator Vassos Pyrgos has put an end to the confusion regarding CyTA's new call costs, announcing what rates the company would be allowed to charge for calls.

In his announcement, Pyrgos said he would not allow CyTA to set such competitive prices without first evaluating their cost data. "We have issued a decree that states what increases and decreases CyTA can make to their national calls for the moment. CyTA initially wanted to increase the fixed price of landlines from £5 to £7,25 and in turn to lower call costs," said Pyrgos.

However, Pyrgos said CyTA had not shown any evidence to justify their decision to alter their call rates. "We issued a temporary decree effective from February 1 for 15 days postponing CyTA from lowering their international call rates that have now been put into effect. This was so we could evaluate whether the company's cost orientation was lower than the new rates and to ensure they were not trying to wipe out any competition," said Pyrgos.

The regulator said the new rates on national calls would be in effect as of next Friday. Calls from a landline to another landline during peak time will cost 2 cent per 2 minutes. CyTA had wanted to lower the price to 1.5 cent per 2 minutes.

Calls from a landline to a mobile telephone will cost 2.47 cents per minute and the price of the Internet will be 2 cents per 6 minutes. The cost of calls made from a mobile phone to a landline will range from 2.47 cents per minute to 4.13 cents per minute.

Pyrgos said the decree would last during the transitional period when CyTA is no longer a monopoly and while doors open to make way for the establishment of other telecommunications companies.

"CyTA must prove that they are not out to strangle their competition, that their cost orientation is not below the international call costs and that both costumers and competition can benefit from their rates," said Pyrgos.

Rival Telepassport yesterday announced their new call rates effective as of February 15, 15 per cent lower than CyTA's prices. Telepassport customers using a landline will be able to call another landline for only 1.7 cents per minute during peak and off peak time.
Connecting to the Internet from a landline will cost 1.7 cent per 6 minutes and calls made from a landline to a mobile phone will cost 2.35 cent per minute.

Telepassport calls made to Britain, Greece, Germany and the USA from a landline will cost 3.75 cents per minute, compared to 3.96 cents per minute for CyTA customers.
Justifying his refusal to allow CyTA to alter its rates, Pyrgos said his intention was not to lower prices only to benefit the consumer, but to regulate the market to end the monopoly of CyTA.

Paris Menelaou of CyTA yesterday told the Cyprus Mail that their new international call rates had been accepted by the Telecommunications Regulator and had been in effect since February 1.

"However, we have a problem with our national call rates that we proposed last Friday. The regulator has said that we cannot apply these prices as they claim we have not given them sufficient cost data," said Menelaou.

By Katya Diogenous