Some Romanians will be able to talk on the phone and use an operator other than the monopolistic RomTelecom soon after New Year's Eve, the second week of January to be precise. At least this is what Communications minister Dan Nica says.
However, Nica admits "the actual interconnection between the networks of the new operators and of RomTelecom may create certain delays."
Although several companies have already voiced plans to expand to the fixed telephony market (RCS&RDS, Astral Telecom, SNR, Teletrans etc.), no one can tell exactly how many such new operators will the Romanians see on the market following the deregulation on January 1, 2003. "The National Communications Regulating Authority (ANRC) has already been notified by several companies planning to provide communications services starting early next year," Nica specified without going into further details.
ANRC chairman Ion Smeeianu has recently said that official notifications (i.e., the condition required to provide telephony services) can be sent only after December 23, therefore the notifications ANRC has received until now are merely informative.
The first choice the Romanians will have as of January 1, 2003 will be the international telephony over the Internet Protocol. This service will be initially offered by about five companies, mainly ISPs, and will allow anyone to call a relative abroad, for instance, using their old fixed phone, without being charged by RomTelecom. The user will buy a prepaid card and will be able to make international calls after dialling a series of numbers.
Market sources estimate the tariffs of international calls over IP will be 80% lower than those levied by RomTelecom for natural persons, while the companies will be able to make international calls at 50% or 60% lower tariffs.
Pentru alte știri, analize, articole și informații din business în timp real urmărește Ziarul Financiar pe WhatsApp Channels
