Govt issues crackdown on telcos

LEADING mobile-phone operators issued new tariffs Tuesday to conform to a government prakas on pricing, following a crunch meeting at the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications (MPTC) Monday.

In December, mobile-phone operators were ordered by MPTC and the Ministry of Finance to raise tariffs to at least US$0.045 per minute in a bid to end a price war that the government felt was undermining profitability in the sector.

At the time, companies had just 15 days to comply. Though some did so almost immediately, others challenged the edict.

This week, nearly two months after the original order, some cut-price price plans offering reduced-rate calls were still in place.

The situation was brought to a head Monday at a meeting held at the MPTC head office.

A telecoms executive, who declined to be named, said that an MPTC official handed each operator a sealed envelope at the gathering.

At least two mobile companies received the same letter, seen by the Post on Tuesday: a warning signed by the Council of Ministers on February 2 that outlined the punishments that would result from failure to comply with the prakas, which was ratified by Prime Minister Hun Sen on January 28.

The letter says companies face a three-month suspension of their operating licences if they fail to comply. The licences would then be terminated if inaction continued, the letter stated.

On Monday, Mao Chakrya, director general of MPTC, confirmed that the meeting was held as a result of companies violating the prakas.

“We had left the operators about two months to comply. Why did they not change then? When the companies go back from this meeting, they will have to change,” he said.

Action has quickly followed the government’s strong-line approach. On Tuesday, phone companies including Smart Phone, qb and Mfone announced new tariff rates.

Today Smart Phone changed rates on its WOW tariff to $0.05 a minute. In December, when the prakas was first enforced, the company offered customers up to 30 minutes of free calls a day within the Smart Mobile network when they topped up with $5 or more of credit.

On Tuesday, its Web site stated that Smart Mobile users could enjoy free calls for only $0.10 per day.

Speaking to the Post, Thomas Hundt, Smart Phone CEO, confirmed that the new tariff rate – which is set to be in place for only a few weeks until a new tariff is introduced on February 28 – was made to conform to the government order.

He said that the prakas has not aided his business, and he declined to discuss any marketing plans to boost customer numbers in the future.

Phone company qb also issued a new price plan, called qbfr3dom, to comply with the regulations.

Its customers will now be charged $0.05 per minute for in-network calls and $0.07 for across-network calls. Before, customers paid $3 for 300 minutes’ worth of on-network calls.

A qb staff member, who declined to be named, said that the new price went into effect on Tuesday.

The source said that it would take about a month to move all its customers – many of whom were said to be unhappy about paying higher rates – to the plan because of an obligation to provide its previous rates to customers who had already signed up.

“We have to comply with the regulations set out by the prakas,” he said. “But we are experiencing serious problems with our customers and have changed our price plan twice already.”

Mfone also announced that a new tariff, charging $0.078 per minute, would be in effect on its network today.

A Star Cell call centre worker told the Post on Tuesday that the company intended to leave its pricing unchanged in January.

She said that Star Cell users are charged $0.05 per minute for within-network calls, and $0.07 per minute for across-network calls.

She added that from 12pm to 6am, in-network calls would be charged $0.025 per minute. The prakas minimum is $0.045.

Som Kongkea from Star Cell’s corporate affairs division said the promotion had been approved by MPTC.

Other operators are now considering how to make the most of their business now that the price war is set to end.

“As far as we understand, all of our tariffs comply,” said Hello CEO Simon Perkins, adding that his firm was in the process of applying for MPTC permission to run new promotions, a requirement under the recently updated regulations. ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STEVE FINCH