Vodafone mulls 12 pct cut in fixed-to-mobile termination charges
Vodafone Greece will slash its charges to connect incoming calls to its networks by about 12 percent, a source familiar with the situation said yesterday, as pressure from regulators continues. The move on these termination rates comes as Greek telecoms regulator EETT and the European Commission have called for more rate cuts to bring them in line with European Union averages. «Vodafone Greece will cut fixed-to-mobile termination rates by about 12 percent which will come into effect October 1,» the source told Reuters. EETT President Emmanouil Giakoumakis told Reuters in an interview in June the watchdog might force mobile operators to cut termination charges by two-fifths over the next three years. Greek fixed-to-mobile call prices rank among the highest in Europe. The source said CosmOTE, the country’s largest mobile operator by users, is expected to trim its prices by the same margin as Vodafone Greece. CosmOTE said it would make an announcement when it has something new to say. Third-ranked Stet Hellas said it has nothing to say due to management changes at the company. Analysts said new cuts are not expected to hit operators’ revenues. «There will be a negligible effect on operators’ revenues, with a drop of around 3 percent if all other factors remain unchanged. Usage growth and elasticity in the market will offset this decline,» said Kappa Securities analyst Costas Karitsos. Separately, Stet Hellas named a former top manager at Vodafone as its new chief executive. Sokratis Kominakis, 36, takes over from Nikolaos Varsakis, who resigned last week, Stet Hellas said in a statement. (Reuters)
