While it acknowledged that the elimination of different charges for calls made between and within parishes, would, in some instances, lead to increased charges on customers bills, the company did not quantify the additional costs Jamaicans will, on average, have to bear.

However, calculations made by the Observer, using data supplied by the Office of Utilities Regulations (OUR), suggest that the weighted average price could rise by as much as 15 per cent.

Though C&W has set October 1 as the date for introducing the new rate structure, it has to be approved by the OUR.  Beginning October 1, customers will pay 90 cents per minute during peak hours and 60 cents per minute during off-peak hours, irrespective of where in Jamaica they are calling.

They now pay 60 cents per minute for calling within their own parish during peak hours, and 46 cents per minute during off-peak hours.

For calls made outside of a customer's parish, the rate is $1.10 per minute during peak periods and $1 per minute during off-peak periods.

Though the rates for calling between parishes will fall, such calls account for a minority of calls made by C&W's land-line customers.

The fact is that the vast majority of calls made by landline customers terminate within their own parishes - and so be subject to the increased rate.

In fact, data on calls made between 2003/04 provided by the OUR, indicate that on a weighted average basis, 75 per cent of all calls were made within parishes.  Therefore, under the new rate structure, significantly more customers are likely to face a price increase than those whose cost will fall.

If the OUR grants C&W the increase, it would be the second time in a year-and-a half that landline customers would face increase.

In March last year the following rate increases for land line customers came into effect:

.  60 cents per minute for full-rate intra parish calls, up 42.9 per cent from the previous $42 cents.

.  46 cents per minute for off-peak intra-parish calls, up 18 per cent from 39 cents.

.  $1 per minute for inter-parish household calls during off-peak, up 47 per cent per cent from $0.68.

At the time of the increase, C&W said it would bring the charges to customers closer in line with the actual cost of delivering land-line telephone services to them.  Yesterday, Evans Garricks, senior vice president for retail and residential services at C&W, was unable to provide a specific estimate of the weighted average increase that would result from the proposed rate structure.  He said, however, that customers would have different experience depending on their call patterns.

"It is not good news for everyone," said Garricks.  "We believe that customers that have high intra-parish (same parish) calls may see a slight increase, but they will see a decrease in inter parish calling to balance that of."

It is critical for C&W to be able to quantify the price impact of any rate structure that it proposes because there is a cap placed by the OUR on any percentage rate increase the company can be granted.

Added Garricks: "Let me repeat, there are some increases in rates, customers with high intra-parish calls will see an increase in costs, customers that have not had the benefit of making inter-parish calls will also benefit."

Since full liberalisation of Jamaica's telecoms market in 2003, Cable and Wireless has undergone several changes, including loss of market share in mobile services.  Digicel, the Irish-owned mobile phone company that has expanded across the Caribbean since its launch in Jamaica four years ago, claims the lion's share of the estimated two million cellular phone users reported in 2005.

At the same time, C&W has reported a reduction in the number of fixed line customers over the financial year ending in March 2005, losing approximately 50,000 customers over the period.  It currently has 450,000 customers island wide.

However, the company this month shifted focus towards the provision of broadband services islandwide, committing itself to bringing broadband to 50,000 homes by the end of the fiscal year.

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/html/20050901T000000-0500_87385_OBS_____PHONE_HIKE.asp