Mobile telephony time-windows to stay
The time-window covering the use of pre-paid mobile telephony services in Malta is likely to stay, i-Tech can reveal.Maltese MEP Joseph Muscat recently raised the issue in this newspaper after taking the cue from the Italian government, which banned...
The time-window covering the use of pre-paid mobile telephony services in Malta is likely to stay, i-Tech can reveal.
Maltese MEP Joseph Muscat recently raised the issue in this newspaper after taking the cue from the Italian government, which banned charges related to pre-paid top-up cards. Malta has one of the highest rates of pre-paid mobile use in Europe.
"Mobile telephony is one of the sectors in which I think that consumers are being short-changed," Mr Muscat said in his March 19 opinion article.
"This goes beyond the roaming issue on which I am drafting a report. It has to do with other issues, from the transparency of the tariffs, to the way in which tax is being levied on top-up vouchers, to the time-windows given to pre-paid mobile phone users."
However, there are no plans to affect changes to these time windows in the Maltese market.
"At this point in time the Malta Communications Authority (MCA) does not intend to issue a decision on time-windows for pre-paid mobile phone services in Malta," a spokesman from the authority said.
"The MCA has not discussed the issue in question with the operators. They offer a variety of time windows, generally either one year, six months or three months. This is more or less in line with other EU states."
Mr Muscat said the European Commission had said that the time-windows issue was not addressed in the directives constituting the EU regulatory framework for electronic communications. Nevertheless, the general issue of increased transparency is being addressed in the ongoing review.
The national regulatory authorities - the MCA in Malta's case - or consumer protection bodies, may wish to investigate this matter and take any necessary action in accordance with national laws, the Commission added.
Both local mobile network operators insist there is a business case for keeping these time windows.
"Some people may not appreciate that keeping a connection active incurs costs," Michael Balzan, senior executive customer care at Go Mobile, pointed out.
"A mobile operator in Malta is required to pay a licence fee that depends on the number of mobile numbers activated. Keeping a connection active long after it has stopped being used, or else when it is used very seldom, will in time represent a costly business."
Mikhail Gerchuk, chief commercial officer at Vodafone Malta insisted that "time windows are an integral part of the economics of the prepaid offers just as monthly fees are for postpaid offers. We would discuss any request by the MCA to remove them, to ensure that the best decision is taken in the interest of our customers, without compromising our commercial structure".
Both operators said they felt their clients were comfortable enough with time-windows.
"While there will always be a few customers who state a preference for longer time-windows, many customers are happy with the current duration assigned to each top-up denomination," Mr Balzan reassured.
"Besides, with the lowering in tariffs and the greater range of services available, many people are finding it easier than ever to utilise their pre-paid account balance and therefore the concept of the time-window is no longer an intimidating factor."
The same goes for Vodafone Malta.
"We regularly carry out customer research to identify key customer turn-offs and dissatisfactions with the mobile offerings in Malta. Time-windows have never been raised as an important customer issue or concern," Mr Gerchuk revealed.
The MCA confirmed that Maltese mobile users are not too concerned about the issue.
In Malta, 93 per cent of Go Mobile clients use the pre-paid service, with Vodafone Malta's share standing at 90 per cent. This is very similar to other Southern European countries. For example Vodafone Italy has 92 per cent of its clients on pre-paid.
Maltese MEP Joseph Muscat reiterates his position that there should be a review.
"As a country we have yet to go a long way to help secure consumer protection. I am not convinced that time-windows are long enough to this effect. Given that the European Commission will likely look at this issue in the review of the telecom framework, I would like to see our authorities and operators take a proactive rather than reactive approach based only on compliance."
Maltese MEP Joseph Muscat recently raised the issue in this newspaper after taking the cue from the Italian government, which banned charges related to pre-paid top-up cards. Malta has one of the highest rates of pre-paid mobile use in Europe.
"Mobile telephony is one of the sectors in which I think that consumers are being short-changed," Mr Muscat said in his March 19 opinion article.
"This goes beyond the roaming issue on which I am drafting a report. It has to do with other issues, from the transparency of the tariffs, to the way in which tax is being levied on top-up vouchers, to the time-windows given to pre-paid mobile phone users."
However, there are no plans to affect changes to these time windows in the Maltese market.
"At this point in time the Malta Communications Authority (MCA) does not intend to issue a decision on time-windows for pre-paid mobile phone services in Malta," a spokesman from the authority said.
"The MCA has not discussed the issue in question with the operators. They offer a variety of time windows, generally either one year, six months or three months. This is more or less in line with other EU states."
Mr Muscat said the European Commission had said that the time-windows issue was not addressed in the directives constituting the EU regulatory framework for electronic communications. Nevertheless, the general issue of increased transparency is being addressed in the ongoing review.
The national regulatory authorities - the MCA in Malta's case - or consumer protection bodies, may wish to investigate this matter and take any necessary action in accordance with national laws, the Commission added.
Both local mobile network operators insist there is a business case for keeping these time windows.
"Some people may not appreciate that keeping a connection active incurs costs," Michael Balzan, senior executive customer care at Go Mobile, pointed out.
"A mobile operator in Malta is required to pay a licence fee that depends on the number of mobile numbers activated. Keeping a connection active long after it has stopped being used, or else when it is used very seldom, will in time represent a costly business."
Mikhail Gerchuk, chief commercial officer at Vodafone Malta insisted that "time windows are an integral part of the economics of the prepaid offers just as monthly fees are for postpaid offers. We would discuss any request by the MCA to remove them, to ensure that the best decision is taken in the interest of our customers, without compromising our commercial structure".
Both operators said they felt their clients were comfortable enough with time-windows.
"While there will always be a few customers who state a preference for longer time-windows, many customers are happy with the current duration assigned to each top-up denomination," Mr Balzan reassured.
"Besides, with the lowering in tariffs and the greater range of services available, many people are finding it easier than ever to utilise their pre-paid account balance and therefore the concept of the time-window is no longer an intimidating factor."
The same goes for Vodafone Malta.
"We regularly carry out customer research to identify key customer turn-offs and dissatisfactions with the mobile offerings in Malta. Time-windows have never been raised as an important customer issue or concern," Mr Gerchuk revealed.
The MCA confirmed that Maltese mobile users are not too concerned about the issue.
In Malta, 93 per cent of Go Mobile clients use the pre-paid service, with Vodafone Malta's share standing at 90 per cent. This is very similar to other Southern European countries. For example Vodafone Italy has 92 per cent of its clients on pre-paid.
Maltese MEP Joseph Muscat reiterates his position that there should be a review.
"As a country we have yet to go a long way to help secure consumer protection. I am not convinced that time-windows are long enough to this effect. Given that the European Commission will likely look at this issue in the review of the telecom framework, I would like to see our authorities and operators take a proactive rather than reactive approach based only on compliance."