DUSHANBE, October 16, 2012, Asia-Plus — The decision to raise tariffs on outbound calls to Russia is quite an explainable step, Ghafour Irkayev, Head of the Association of Mobile Phone Operators of Tajikistan, told Asia-Plus Tuesday afternoon.
According to him, it was a forced step. “Since 2007, the number of mobile phone subscribers in Tajikistan has increased nearly ten times – from 750,000 to 7 million,” said Irkayev. “Meanwhile, tariffs have been steadily decreasing over the past five years. We now have the lowest prices of mobile communications services offered to consumers within the CIS area. Electricity and gas prices as well as equipment prices have increased since then.”
Communications regulatory bodies and mobile phone operators should have raised tariffs long ago, but they had been delaying the process, Irkayev noted. “Now, we have ruling of the antimonopoly agency and the communication service agency that must be carried out by the mobile phone operators.”
We will recall that an official source at the communications service agency told Asia-Plus on Monday that mobile phone operators functioning in Tajikistan have raised tariff on outbound calls to the Russian Federation.
Beginning on November 1, there will be consolidated tariff on outbound calls to Russia for all mobile phone operators functioning in Tajikistan – US$0.10 per one minute (VAT and excise duty are not included), the source said.
The mobile phone operators say they do so in line with the ruling handed down by the Antimonopoly Agency under the Government of Tajikistan and requirements issued by the Communications Service under the Government of Tajikistan on September 27, 2012.
Meanwhile, an official source at the Antimonopoly Agency under the Government of Tajikistan says four Tajik large mobile phone operators that are on the register of dominating entities have been fined for ignoring the anti-monopoly agency’s ruling to raise tariffs on outbound calls to Russia.
According to him, the mobile phone operators should have raised tariffs on outbound calls to Russia in May 2011. “An appropriate ruling was handed down on April 26 last year following a request by the mobile phone operators themselves,” said the source. “Affiliates of Russian mobile phone companies operating in Tajikistan justified the request by saying that they received an offer from Russia to raise tariffs up to 8 cents per minute, and therefore, the tariffs were reviewed.”
In April last year, the antimonopoly agency reportedly handed down ruling to raise tariffs on outbound calls to Russia to 12 cents per minute (VAT and excise duty are included). “Analysis of the mobile phone market has shown that some companies whose head offices are located in Russia have used their advantageous situation and cut the prices. Thereby, they have put other mobile phone operators at a disadvantage,” the source added.
