Johannesburg - Telkom announced on Monday that it filed for a cut in ADSL rental of up to 32% and an overall price cut of 2.1% with the independent telecommunications authority Icasa.
Africa's biggest telecoms company said in a statement that the main beneficiaries of its proposed price changes will be ADSL users who will enjoy a reduction in rentals of up to 32%.
There are also reductions of up to 20% in the monthly rental for residential ISDN services, a decrease of up to 39% in the rates for IPLCs (International Private Leased Circuits) as well
as significant cuts in long distance and international call charges.
The price changes will take effect on August 1 2006 if they are approved by the Independent Communication Authority of South Africa.
"Telkom is committed to its customer centricity drive and we are certain that the proposed price changes made to Icasa will result in significant savings for all our customers," said Steven Hayward, Telkom's Managing Executive for Retail Marketing.
"Although the net impact of the proposed prices will vary among
customers, mainly due to the types of services they utilise, the overall effect will be a reduction in the cost of telecommunications in South Africa," he added.
No change in local calls
Despite inflationary pressures, local call charges remain unchanged. The minimum charge for local calls is 59.4 cents, with the per minute rates being 38c and 16c for Standard and Callmore Time respectively.
Callmore Time for national calls are from 19:00 to 07:00 (Monday to Friday) and from 19:00 on a Friday to 07:00 on Monday morning.
The price of long distance calls have been reduced by 10%. Long distance calls will now cost 72c per minute during Standard Time and 36c per minute during Callmore Time. The minimum charge for long distance calls have also dropped by 10% (8c) to 72c.
"Following two price reductions in long distance calls last year, our long distance call rates will now be even more competitive for both residential and business customers," stated Hayward.
Telkom customers with family or business ties to international
destinations will benefit from a 9.9% reduction in the average price per minute of international calls.
Calls to the US will now cost at little as 99c per minute during Global Off-peak Time and R1.20 during Global Peak Time, while calls to UK will cost R1.30 and R1.40 during Global Off-Peak and Global Peak Times respectively.
International Global Off-peak Time is from 20:00 to 08:00 (Monday to Friday) and from 20:00 on a Friday to 08:00 on Monday morning.
Affordable DSL
In addition to these proposed price reductions, Hayward said that
Telkom's price filing would also make DSL rentals "much more affordable".
The proposed DSL 192 and 384 monthly rental is R245 from August 1
2006 - a price decrease of R25 (9.3%) on the former and R114 (31.8%) on the latter.
There are also reductions of 24.1% on the monthly rentals for DSL 512 and DSL 1024. The proposed new monthly rental for DSL 512 is R362 (down from the current R477 monthly rental) while DSL 1024 monthly rentals are set to drop by R164 to R516.
The indicated DSL prices exclude ISP costs, line rental and call charges.
Some prices hiked
Hayward said in certain instances business considerations have dictated marginal price hikes.
He explained that minimum charges for local PrepaidFone calls are
proposed to go up by 3c, while per minute rates are scheduled to increase by 2c (Standard Time) and 1c (Callmore Time).
PrepaidFone monthly line rental will remain unchanged.
While residential rentals for ISDN 2 and ISDN 2a lines will drop by R29.38 and R44.10 respectively, the monthly rental on post paid analogue lines will increase by R7.64 (residential) and R10.15 (business).
This year, the mandatory regulatory formula would have allowed Telkom to file a change in the price of its basket of products of -0.2%.
"That we have kept our increases well within these limits and have filed for an overall price decrease of 2.1% on our basket services, clearly demonstrates our on-going commitment to our customers as well as our determination to make telecommunications even more affordable and accessible," said Hayward.
"Having complied with regulatory prescriptions, Telkom is confident that our proposed price changes will be approved by Icasa," Hayward concluded.
- I-Net Bridge