THREE mobile network operators in Slovakia, Telefónica Slovakia, Slovak Telekom and Orange Slovensko, are being forced to cut connection fees, which make calling from one operator’s number to another operator’s number more expensive, by 67 percent.
The maximum price an operator will be allowed to charge for ending the call in its network will be €0.01226 per minute as of Aug. 1, the SITA newswire reported the ruling of the Telecommunications Office.
The cut in this fee is the fourth since 2009. Until then, the prices weren’t regulated. The Telecommunications Office deems the regulation of connection fees and the duty for operators to allow the transfer of phone number from one operator to another, are effective tools to increase competition on the telecoms market, and to lower the prices for clients, SITA reported.
The operators however object.
“We see no reason for such strong regulation of connection fees in fully competitive environment, however we do respect it,” Slovak Telekom’s spokesman Martin Vidan told SITA.