R
rx1950
Guest
[broken link removed]
Telecoms body cracks down on directory enquiry costs
New regulations designed to alert phone users to the hidden costs of using the 11811 and 11850 directory enquiry services will put the spotlight on the huge profits earned by Eircom and Conduit from call connect services.
Telecoms regulator ComReg plans in the next fortnight to force the Eircom 11811 and the Conduit 11850 services to reveal for the first time the full cost of the directory enquiry to the user at the time of making the call.
Both companies have faced criticism from consumer and telecom watchdogs who claim that they have deliberately kept customers in the dark about the high cost of call connect services.
ComReg will demand that the directory phone companies provide general tariff information on all advertising.
But Eircom's multimillion euro sponsorship of the TV weather on RTE and TV3, which is the company's main advertising outlet for the 11811 service, will be exempt from the new rules.
Eircom commands over 70 per cent of the phone directory market and generates €34 million in annual sales from operator services. The company earns a high profit margin from the call connect services, according to Peter Frawley, an analyst at Merrion Stockbrokers.
Eircom charges 66 cent for each call enquiry and another 39.39 cent for every minute of the duration of a call connected by the directory enquiry operator.
This means that a local call connected by a directory operator can run out costing many times the standard price.
A spokeswoman for Eircom was unable to provide the charges for accessing its 11811 service via mobile phones.
The firm's rival, Conduit charges 42 cent and another 42 cent per minute for connected enquiry calls for customers accessing the 11850 service from an Eircom phone.
Mobile phone users accessing its 11850 service face a complicated tariff depending on the time of the call, the mobile phone provider being used and whether the mobile is a pre-paid phone.
The cost of accessing the 11850 service from a pre-paid Vodafone mobile can reach €1.02 per minute during peak hours. Conduit said its directory charges are lower than those of Eircom.
Most other enquiry services across Europe already inform consumers about the cost at the time of making the call.
The directory enquiry business is important for Eircom because, unlike its main fixed-line phone business, the company is free to set prices without consulting the regulator.
Telecoms body cracks down on directory enquiry costs
New regulations designed to alert phone users to the hidden costs of using the 11811 and 11850 directory enquiry services will put the spotlight on the huge profits earned by Eircom and Conduit from call connect services.
Telecoms regulator ComReg plans in the next fortnight to force the Eircom 11811 and the Conduit 11850 services to reveal for the first time the full cost of the directory enquiry to the user at the time of making the call.
Both companies have faced criticism from consumer and telecom watchdogs who claim that they have deliberately kept customers in the dark about the high cost of call connect services.
ComReg will demand that the directory phone companies provide general tariff information on all advertising.
But Eircom's multimillion euro sponsorship of the TV weather on RTE and TV3, which is the company's main advertising outlet for the 11811 service, will be exempt from the new rules.
Eircom commands over 70 per cent of the phone directory market and generates €34 million in annual sales from operator services. The company earns a high profit margin from the call connect services, according to Peter Frawley, an analyst at Merrion Stockbrokers.
Eircom charges 66 cent for each call enquiry and another 39.39 cent for every minute of the duration of a call connected by the directory enquiry operator.
This means that a local call connected by a directory operator can run out costing many times the standard price.
A spokeswoman for Eircom was unable to provide the charges for accessing its 11811 service via mobile phones.
The firm's rival, Conduit charges 42 cent and another 42 cent per minute for connected enquiry calls for customers accessing the 11850 service from an Eircom phone.
Mobile phone users accessing its 11850 service face a complicated tariff depending on the time of the call, the mobile phone provider being used and whether the mobile is a pre-paid phone.
The cost of accessing the 11850 service from a pre-paid Vodafone mobile can reach €1.02 per minute during peak hours. Conduit said its directory charges are lower than those of Eircom.
Most other enquiry services across Europe already inform consumers about the cost at the time of making the call.
The directory enquiry business is important for Eircom because, unlike its main fixed-line phone business, the company is free to set prices without consulting the regulator.