Nextel Peru could reduce the rates it charges customers by as much as 25% if telecommunications regulator Osiptel would reduce interconnection charges to US$ 0.13 per minute, Nextel president Miguel Rivera said.

Osiptel proposed a mobile to fixed interconnection charge of US$ 0.2053 per minute.

"Even though the idea of establishing a maximum charge for interconnection is positive, the regulator has used international statistics with information from 2000," Rivera said.

Interconnection charges represent close to 70% of the total price users pay for mobile to fixed calls. If Osiptel reduced the maximum charge to US$ 0.1348 per minute, the lower resulting tariffs could spur an increase in mobile subscribers to 4 million in 2005 versus 3.7 million today, according to Nextel.

"Osiptel has already started working on this matter and we expect to have a final decision during the first half of the year. We have established February 15 as the deadline for all operators to deliver information about their costs," Osiptel president Edwin San Román said.

Intelecon Research & Consultancy Ltd. 19/01/2005
Source: Business News Americas