Regular users of long-distance services will be charged at the same rate as local calls starting next year, after the National Communications Commission (NCC) asked Chunghwa Telecom to reduce its proposed rates for long-distance calls.
Commission spokesperson Chen Jeng-chang (陳正倉) said the commission reviewed the new rate plan proposed by Chunghwa Telecom, which will charge customers NT$1.6 per three minutes for local or long distance calls and NT$1 per three minutes when calls are made during discount hours. Users who are not regular long-distance callers will also be able to subscribe to the plan, the company said.
“The commissioners felt that customers would still have to choose from different long--distance service plans, which was too complicated,” Chen said. “The commissioners then proposed that the company maintain current rates for local calls and make long-distance rates identical nationwide.”
Chen said the commission asked the company to consider charging NT$1.6 per three minutes for long-distance calls made -during regular hours and NT$1 for every three minutes during discount hours, regardless of which plan callers choose.
Starting in January, residents of Matsu would be charged the local call rate of NT$1.6 per three minutes whether they called someone in Matsu or Taiwan proper, Chen said.
“In future, the rate for long--distance calls will not be an issue,” Chen said. “The only difference will be when those calls are made.”
At present, rates for local calls made in regular hours vary from NT$1.6 per three minutes to NT$2.7 per 10 minutes, depending on the different monthly fees paid by users. Calls dialed during discount hours are all charged at NT$1 per 10 minutes.
Long-distance calls, on the other hand, cost NT$5.7 per three minutes during regular hours and about NT$4 per three minutes during discount hours.
Taiwan’s local call rates were already low they did not need to be changed, Chen said.
Chunghwa Telecom president Chang Shiao-tung (張曉東), who attended the meeting, said he would consult with company chairman Lu Shyue-ching (呂學錦) on the proposal to make long distance calls identical
Chen said the commission would very likely approve the plan this week if the company agreed to the proposal.
“An estimated 12 million CHT customers are expected to benefit from the new rate for long distance calls,” Chen said.
However, the term “long--distance call” would continue to exist and only become history if area codes are discontinued, which has yet to happen, he said.
Chunghwa Telecom said the new rate would result in revenue losses in fixed phone services of NT$2.8 billion annually.
A report by the International Telecommunications Union in 2009 showed that Taiwan’s fixed phone service rates were second only to Iran’s as cheapest.
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