By Rebecca Wright
A ruling by the Commerce Commission today should, in time, benefit everyone who uses a cellphone.
For the same money, we should get more calling time and more texts.
But don’t expect monthly bills to come down overnight. That will depend on phone companies.
Today’s decision ends a squabble that has dragged on for five years.
Ever call, every text between networks involves a fee. It’s called a ‘mobile termination rate’ and the Commerce Commission says Kiwis have been paying too much.
“Certainly wouldn’t say they’ve been ripped off, but they’re certainly paying higher prices than they would if markets were more competitive,” says Telecommunications Commission spokesman Ross Patterson.
The networks have been ordered to slash those rates – starting tomorrow.
This is how it will work:
- At present networks charge each other 18 cents per minute to connect
- That will be cut to 4c per minute by April next year, with further reductions until 2014
- Texters pay around 9.5 cents per message
- That drops to just .06 cents overnight
But don’t expect to see that reflected in your bill right away.
“They may see no difference at all, the telcos aren’t required to pass on any of the savings to the customers,” Telecommunication Users Association spokesman Paul Brislen.
But the new prices should mean better value packages – you may pay the same each month, but get more talk time and texting for your money.
The advice is, even if you’re not in the market for a new mobile phone, take a good look at your plan.
“If you plan is up for review some time in the next year, I think it would pay to look very carefully at your current plan and then see what else is out there,” says Consumer NZ spokesman David Naulls.
Prepay users should see prices begin to come down too. Telecom has already moved; it’s Pay As You Go call rate came down to 69c per minute across any network on April 1.
The other major player in the market – Vodafone – slammed the Commerce Commission’s decision today saying it had gone too far. It is not ruling out legal action.
3 News