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The Gambia
Telecommunications
Company (GAMTEL) has
proposed to increased
tariffs to about
two-fold or more in
order to generate
revenue.
 The
proposed tariff
increment by The Gambia
Telecommunications
Company (Gamtel) Limited
has sparked intense
public reaction in the
country. And last
Saturday, the Public
Utilities Regulatory
Authority (PURA)
organized a public
hearing at Alliance
Franco-Gambienne along
Kairaba Avenue to gauge
public opinion.
If the proposals are
accepted, the cost of
local calls could rise
from D0.60 per minute to
D1.00 per minute;
business line rental
from D40.00 per month to
D100.00 per month, as
well as an increase in
residential line rentals
from D35.00 per month to
D70.00 per month.
Justifying the need
for the increment,
Gamtel officials
explained that the last
review of the company's
call tariffs was done
about two decades ago in
1988 and that the cost
of telephone line rental
was also last reviewed
in 1994.
"Given the
inflationary trends and
other economic
indicators over the
years, Gamtel argued
that the current
tarriffs are now below
the cost of service
provision and that they
can no longer be
sustained", the company
said.
Gamtel further argued
that the proposed tariff
increases were needed to
allow the company begin
aligning prices of
services with their
costs, and to allow the
company do away with the
current "uneconomic"
tariffs that have
remained in place
without cross reference
to the cost of services
provided.
Gamtel says that at
the current rates,
customers are only
enjoying the privilege
of the services without
adequate contribution to
the cost of their
provision.
Read more...
Source:
senegambianews.com
Date: 02/07/08
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