Regulator considers raising local phone tariffs

Ukraine’s telecom market regulator is considering a proposal to increase local calling rates, a regulatory official told Kommersant in an interview published this morning. Tariffs for local calls, the only telecom rates that remain regulated, were raised in two stages by a total of 35%-55% last year. Before that, local telecom tariffs had been revised once every three years, on average.

Alexander Paraschiy: An upward revision in local calling tariffs would be beneficial for Ukrtelecom (UTLM UK), Ukraine’s largest fixed line operator, which generates roughly 40% of revenue from local calls and claims it just nearly breaks even in this segment. Fixed line telephony has effectively lost its social importance due to the existence of cheap mobile services, so we believe the regulator could actually go through with a slight tariff upgrade, even before parliamentary elections in October.