Cesky Telecom’s competitors want to reverse the new CT tariffs

Cesky Telecom’s fixed-line competitors are considering various steps, including legal action against the sector regulator, in an effort to reverse the new Cesky Telecom tariffs, approved last year by the regulator. The tariff packages include higher monthly fees as well as a higher amount of free minutes, thus making it more difficult for other operators to compete for customer voice traffic once call-by-call selection of operator becomes available in July 2002 (customers will tend to use up all free minutes from Cesky Telecom before they consider using another operator’s service). Aliatel yesterday mentioned seeking redress in the constitutional court or in Parliament as options. Contactel (50% owned by Ceske radiokomunikace) said that it considers legal action against the regulator. At this stage, we do not expect this issue to have impact on stock price, but it could become more relevant in the future.

(Ondrej Datka)