Cape Town, 12 Nov 2004
Telkom`s reduction in the price of calls to the UK and US to 150c per minute during November is seen by potential competitors as a "flexing of the only fully-fledged telecommunications muscle" ahead of next year`s market liberalisation.
Earlier this month, Telkom announced that all calls to fixed and mobile phones in the UK and US during November would be 150c per minute, irrespective of the time of day.
Telkom spokesman Ravin Maharaj says the promotion is part of an awareness campaign ahead of the busy Christmas season, which traditionally sees high voice traffic as friends and family connect with each other.
The November promotion rate is considerably cheaper than the normal rates. Weekday calls to a UK landline usually cost 312c per minute and those to a mobile number cost 435c per minute. An off-peak call to the UK would cost 281c per minute and 392c per minute to a mobile phone. Peak time calls to landline and mobile numbers in the US cost 333c per minute and off-peak calls are 302c per minute.
Maharaj says the standard Telkom minimum charge of 99c applies for calls that last less than a minute.
Storm CEO Tim Parsonson says the November rate is a clear sign of Telkom flexing its pricing muscles.
"Clearly they are trying to take some of the excitement out of VOIP [voice over Internet Protocol] that can bring prices down even more," he says.
Parsonson says it is clear that Telkom can charge a lot less and the November rate is at the lower range of the call-back pricing range of between 150c and 250c, depending on the number of users and the quality of service.
TXT2Dial international director Simon Lep says the cost of international calls from SA should be equivalent to the UK average cost of four pence (24c) per minute.
"There is still a lot of room for prices to come down," he says.
Lep says call-backs are not the most efficient means to reduce international costs, but Telkom`s 99c minimum charge per call excludes the chances of using the 0800 number system.
"The 0800 number would more efficient because there is only one leg to the call, but that minimum charge does not help," he says.
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