INTERNET and phone bills will not be same this summer with the Cyprus Telecommunication Authority (CyTA) announcing “big changes” in call rates and internet line connections.
Top CyTA officials yesterday announced an increase in connection costs and fixed monthly telephone costs as well as special telephone payment packages that will be introduced as of June 1, 2005.
CyTA insist the majority of changes will not have a significant impact on telephone customers. Internet users, however, look set to dig deeper into their wallets.
“The internet rates will increase significantly from two cents per six minutes to 1.4 cents for two minutes,” thus meaning that those using analogue dial-up internet will be paying twice as much as they are now,” said the Permanent Secretary of CyTA, Nicos Timotheou.
But Research and Development Director of Netymology, Adrian Cleave, was stunned when he heard of CyTA’s decision to increase internet costs, saying it could have a severe backlash for Cytanet, CyTA’s Internet Service Providers.
“Such a move by CyTA could raise a barrier in the adoption of broadband by the general public. I believe that raising the costs like that will scare people off and they could lose market share.”
Unveiling the new packages to reporters, Timotheou first informed reporters of the increases consumers would soon be facing.
“The £30 connection services fee will increase to £37 if paid upfront or £39 if paid in 12 monthly installments. The connection for the normal package will increase from £5 per month to £6.95 for the first phone line per resident per client and £6.45 for other lines.”
He added that a special package would also be on offer for the handicapped.
“At the same time a cheaper package will go on offer in which the connection will increase from £1.50 to £4.30 of which 100 minutes for national calls will be free of charge. For disabled people, the same package will be available with free connection and subscription.”
But there is also good news, said Timotheou, stating that call rates would decrease.
“While all of these changes are occurring, we are, at the same time, decreasing the call rates. For example, in the family package we see a big change in the call rate and whereas in the past the family phone line would be something like £1.2 cents per minute that has now been cut by almost a third and will now cost just £0.88 cents per minute at peak times.
“At non-peak hours, those calls are even cheaper in the family package and cost just £0.58 cents per minute. Some of the packages on offer include various business packages in which companies with high phone bills receive large discounts.
Meanwhile, CyTA Chairman Stavros Kremmos, quizzed as to why CyTA decided to make such drastic changes, said that, “after extensive research by CyTA, it was decided that cost prices had to be reshuffled”.
