Fixed Line Access Tariff For Mobile Operators To Increase In August.

The national communications regulation commission (NCRC) plans to increase payments to fixed-line operators for mobile-to-fixed (MTF) line calls, and to make payment distribution of fixed-to-mobile (FTM) calls more transparent. Tariffs have not changed since August 2003. NCRC wants to create a working group, which will include major mobile and fixed line operators, to approve new tariffs and tariff distribution. Concorde Capital: Currently the FTM tariff of USD 0.2 per minute can be either equally distributed between fixed line and mobile operators, or upon the mutual agreement of both parties other distribution patterns are allowed. Because of Uketelecom’s (UTEL: HOLD) lobbying power, the company can get a higher income percentage from FTM calls (information about mutual agreements is not disclosed). Now NCRC wants only a 50/50 distribution of FTM tariffs, which could affect UTEL revenues from FTM calls negatively. However, this decrease can be compensated for by the growth of payments from mobile operators for MTF calls. Now the number of mobile subscribers is almost two times higher than fixed line customers