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Telecom firms ease minimum call rate restriction
Cell phone users may be able to make cheaper calls now that Laos' four operators have agreed to lower the minimum call rate of 800 kip per minute on certain occasions. Assistant Minister of Post and Telecommunications Mr Padapphet Sayakhot said yesterday that Lao Telecom, ETL, Star Telecom and VimpelCom Lao jointly agreed to lower the minimum service charge, which allows the telcos to offer reduced call rates on certain days.
“Operators can now offer lower call rates, but only on special occasions such as the Chinese New Year,” he told Vientiane Times.
In October, the telcos agreed that a minimum rate of 800 kip would be charged by all four operators as they saw their profits plummet amid cut-throat competition involving special promotions that offered customers very low call rates.
They made the agreement on realising that such low rates could lead to their collapse, while the government would also receive less revenue.
But the agreement led to a dispute between VimpelCom Lao and the other three operators when VimpelCom Lao offered lower rates during the Vientiane Boat Racing Festival. Lao Telecom, ETL and Star Telecom then disconnected their networks from that of VimpelCom Lao on the grounds that the company failed to comply with the agreement.
However, in November VimpelCom Lao persuaded the other three telcos to resume connectivity and revise the service charge agreement.
U nder the revised agreement, the operators will continue to offer a fixed minimum call rate of 800 kip per minute, except on special occasions, when all four companies will be allowed to reduce the rate to 400 kip per minute.
This reduced rate is not to exceed a time period of five days, to prevent an operator from using the lower rate to boost sales, the agreement states.
The four telcos also agreed they would offer items such as cars, motorbikes and cell phones instead of free calls as special promotions, saying this would enable the companies to earn a stable profit.
But the revised agreement does not specify the special occasions to which it refers. This means operators can offer lower call rates on a whole raft of occasions, such as any New Year, Army Day and the birthdays of important people.
According to a report from the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the government expects the telecom sector to generate revenue of about 2,500 billion kip this fiscal year, which will yield about 600 billion kip in taxes.
Mr Padapphet was confident the government would be able to collect the planned amount of tax from the sector now that very low call rates can no longer be offered.
vientiane times
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