Melita Cable guarantees cheaper phone rates

Melita Cable is guaranteeing fixed telephony subscribers cheaper rates once Maltacom stops objecting to interconnection.

Some 4,000 Melita Hello subscribers will today be connected to the Vodafone network, but Melita chief executive Philip Micallef said tens of thousands more were being deprived from cheaper fixed telephony because of Maltacom's intransigence.

Maltacom's refusal to sign the interconnection agreement has landed the national telecoms provider in hot water with the Malta Communications Authority which imposed an administrative Lm10,000 fine and a daily penalty of Lm200.

Interconnection basically enables two separate networks to link up to transmit calls from one network to the other. Without such interconnection, customers are unlikely to select a new network because they would be unable to make or receive calls from other operators.

The Electronic Communications Act forbids operators from blocking interconnection and the MCA also says that when the operator has significant market power -as is the case with Maltacom - the obligation to interconnect is even more serious.

Contacted yesterday Mr Micallef accused Maltacom of denying fixed phone line users a choice.

"Like any new entrant in the market, rates will be driven down and we promise to offer better value for money. And this is why Maltacom is objecting," he said.

As part of its promotion, Melita plans to invite Maltacom subscribers to input the details of their phone numbers, the number of calls made, together with the total cost and then compare it to the new Melita service.

Thanks to a recent EU directive, subscribers may retain the same phone number and a switch of service will only require the replacement of a wire.

Melita last year launched Hello, a service aimed at enabling its cable and internet subscribers to benefit from low-cost international calls and free unlimited local calls made on the network. The monthly rental costs Lm1.66.

Mr Micallef envisages that Melita will get between 20 per cent and 25 per cent of the fixed telephony market share in a year - and in the long term it will even out with Maltacom's share, the way Go Mobile and Vodafone now share approximately the mobile phone market.

Mr Micallef reiterated that the penalties imposed on Maltacom were not enough of a deterrent and called on the government to hike up the penalty through a legal notice.

Melita has even reported the case to the EU and Malta could very well face infringement proceedings if the issue remains unresolved.

In court, Maltacom said it was waiting for Melita to produce certain information and that a number of aspects still had to be discussed and ironed out - which meant a final agreement had not been reached. Maltacom also called on the MCA to ensure it will be competing with Melita Cable on a level playing field.