LIME calls out Digicel

Angus Steele, General Manager of telecommunications provider LIME, has called on their mobile competitor Digicel to reduce its mobile rates to on-net calls and to LIME’s network.{{more}}

At Tuesday’s LIME press conference, Steele questioned the competition’s refusal to pass on savings to its customers, similar to what LIME has done.

“We have asked the simple question and we would not stop asking the question: ‘Why if those wholesale rates have reduced, and why, given that LIME have reduced its rates accordingly, you haven’t reduced your rates?’”

“Our expectation is that when wholesale rates decrease, consumers benefit. I made the example recently: the government has removed VAT (Value Added Tax) from chicken parts and whole chicken. I would expect the public would expect a decrease in the cost of chicken.”

“It’s a reduction in retail rates and you have a right to pass on some of the savings to your customers.”

The challenge stems from the reduction of interconnection rates, which is what the companies must pay to each other for sending calls to each other’s network.

When the interconnection rates are reduced, the providers pay less to each other, creating a savings for themselves.

Steele indicated that during the first interconnectivity rate reduction in May last year, his company voluntarily reduced the rate for LIME customers calling Digicel, but Digicel did not ‘return the favour’ seeing that the act is a voluntary one.

He admitted that during the second rate reduction in October 2009, his company did not trickle down the savings that time around, because Digicel again refused to make any adjustment.

The GM reveled that on a number of occasions, Digicel was invited to discussions with the NTRC as well as with the Minister of Telecommunications to discuss the issue, but they failed to show up.

“We would not give up on this issue. Whether or not a service is regulated, consumers have a right to pay less when the price when the price is less.”

“You the public can force them to act. It’s your money. You can demand it or you can leave them and not use their services. That is your right.”