R ates for international calls on non-cellular phones are being cut by an average
of 10 per cent from the start of next month and there are more reductions in the
pipeline, the Royal Government has said.
Under Secretary of State Koy
Kim Sea at the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications said the rate for calls
for countries in the top price band was coming down from $5.30 to $4.80 and
other countries were being moved down the banding system to make them cheaper by
an average of 10 per cent.
Sea said: "We are planning to make further
reductions, perhaps this year and we are hoping to make rates comparable with
most other countries in the next three or four years.
"We also have plans
to install new networks and hope that the lower rates will attract more people
to use their phones or have one put in."
Currently the Kingdom's
international phone rates are some of the highest in the world and have drawn
some criticism from both the business and private sectors.
Russell
Stuart, country manager for Telstra OTC Australia, which operates the
international phone network welcomed the drop in prices.
He stressed
that the company had no say in pricing but added: "As a customer myself I think
it's a good move."
Stuart denied that rates were artificially high and
pointed out they were comparable to neighboring countries such as
Vietnam.
He explained: "It is inevitable that rates will be high here
when the system is only servicing 2,500 users, compared to countries such as
Finland which has three million. However we have great hopes for the future of
telecommunications in Cambodia."
