THE cost of all telephone calls is to be reduced this year, according to Telecom Eireann.
The company, which announced price cuts on international calls estimated to bring savings of £65 million to business and residential customers yesterday, said all international and domestic calls would by cheaper by the end of the year. It said the latest package would lead to an average saving of 12 per cent for business and 9 per cent for domestic consumers.
From next month, customers will be able to make cheaper calls to Britain, with reductions in the charge for calls to Europe and the US to follow in July. Later this year the cost of domestic trunk calls will be cut and a new discount package for private phone users will be introduced.
Under the new price structure, the cost of a standard rate call to Britain will fall from 33p to 29p per minute. Reduced rate calls will drop in price from 25p to 24p. The lower cost calls to Britain will apply from June 12th. Further price cuts will come into effect in July when charges to Europe, the Far East and the US will be reduced.
The standard rate for phone calls to European states such as Austria, Greece and Spain will be cut by 16 per cent, while the reduced rate will fall by 5 per cent, according to Telecom. Phone charges to other European countries are to be cut by 11 per cent. These rates will be available from July 1st.
The biggest savings for customers in the latest round will be on calls to the US. From July 4th the standard rate will be cut from 66p per minute to 48p. Reduced rate charges to the US will drop from 61p to 45p, while the cost of economy calls will be cut from 54p to 42p.
The reductions in the price of long distance domestic trunk calls are to be announced later. Customers will also be offered a new discount scheme under which it is expected, they will be able to nominate five or six phone numbers on which they can claim a discount.
This is the second time in less than 12 months that Telecom has cut its prices, bringing cumulative reductions of almost 25 per cent to business and 15 per cent to domestic consumers. As part of these reductions for business, Telecom lowered the qualifying threshold for volume discounts from £2,000 to £50 per month, which it claims brought 8,000 new customers into the scheme.
Telecom Eireann chief executive, Mr Alfie Kane, said the latest move was part of its "determined approach" to reduce charges and grow its business.