CosmOTE rounds down euro prices
Heeding the government’s call for everyone to play their part in ensuring a smooth changeover to the euro on January 1, 2002, mobile phone company CosmOTE yesterday said it would readjust its charges to the single currency in favor of subscribers come the beginning of the new year. CosmOTE said the modified rates would lead to savings ranging from more than 1 percent to 4.6 percent for its users, as the euro-denominated tariffs would be rounded down for subscribers’ benefit. Contract users will see charges reduced by between 0.61 percent to 1.71 percent depending on the tier while tariffs for short messages services under the What’s Up? package will be cheaper by 0.40 percent to 1.18 percent. A standard 0.74-percent cut will apply to Cosmokarta, CosmOTE’s popular package directed at the prepay segment. Chat users will see the biggest benefits with charges cut by 4.59 percent, the heftiest cut. The other two mobile phone operators, Panafon-Vodafone and Stet Hellas, have yet to announce their strategy on the euro switchover but are expected to follow in CosmOTE’s footsteps. With slightly more than two weeks to go before the euro replaces the drachma for good, the government has repeatedly urged companies to round down their euro prices and even possibly reduce prices in order to help bolster consumers’ confidence in the new currency. Last year, insurance companies reported a sharp impact on results due to the prolonged stock market slump.
