Telecom is to hike its national off-peak calling rate by 26%, from 19c a minute to 24c a minute.The telco is also nudging up landline rentals.And the mysterious "wiring maintenance" cost sneaks up 7.1%. All increases will kick in during the
Telecom is to hike its national off-peak calling rate by 26%, from 19c a minute to 24c a minute.
The telco is also nudging up landline rentals.
And the mysterious "wiring maintenance" cost sneaks up 7.1%.
All increases will kick in during the June billing cycle.
Customers are to get letters in May advising them of the increases (see table below).
Wellington and Christchurch – the only two cities where Telecom faces direct competition for home lines, from TelstraClear – remain the cheapest locations.
Telecom blamed the increase on inflation.
Under the Telecommunications Act (2001), any increase in Telecom landline rentals must not exceed the rate of increase in the Consumer Price Index.
The Commerce Commission recently noted their are early signs that an increasing number of people are abandoning landlines, and going cellphone-only.
At the Tuanz Telecommunications Day conference in Wellington earlier this month, Telecommunications Commissioner Ross Patterson also noted that Telecom's costs have been rising more slowly than inflation.
Quoting figures from Ministry of Economic Development study, Mr Patterson told the audience," "The Telecommunications Service Obligations arrangements prevent Telecom from increasing line rental by more than CPI annually; this has resulted in line rentals increasing each year by CPI, even though telecommunications costs have been rising at a lower rate than CPI."
Telecom said the MED figures did not reflect its true costs. And that, when broadband and other bundled deals were included, such as the Total Home package, people's total bills had fallen.
