Tariff for calls by second increases costs

The system where subscribers must pay for a full minute call, even when the call lasts only ten seconds, is still being operated by mobile companies in Mongolia.

This system was the reason behind intervention by the Authority for Fair Competition and Consumer Protection (AFCCP). AFCCP joined negotiations with mobile operators because of subscribers` complaints on tariffs and had announced the good news that the tariff price would be changed into a second measurement.

However the tariff price suggestion per second submitted by mobile operators is twice as high as the current charge.

Phone subscribers assume that the switch into using the second tariff price will be cheaper than the current minute charge. But apparently it is the other way around.

Though mobile operators claim that subscribers have the right to choose whether they use the current tariff or the new second tariff, the arrangement is beneficial to subscribers who use shorter calls but no use for those who wish to talk longer.

An official of the Authority for Fair Competition and Consumer Protection (AFCCP) L.Gan-Ulzii said that “There is progress as the subscriber is allowed to pay for how long he talks on the phone. However the new tariff sounds more expensive than the old minute tariff. Some people might think that the whole pay system would switch into using the second tariff by March 1st. But actually this is not the case and the second tariff has been provided as a new service. Therefore subscriber can choose the new service based on second tariff or continue with the current minute tariff.”

The Communication Regulatory Commission had already made a new regulation on the new tariff price per second for phone call especially for the monopoly Mobicom Corporation in Mongolia.

The Commission regulated that the corporation must set prices no less than 1.7 MNT per second. Therefore Mobicom set the tariff at 2.2MNT, Skytel at 1.8MNT and Unitel at 2.0 MNT per second to talk on the phone.

Subscribers of the pre-paid service of Mobicom currently pay 70 MNT for a 50 second phone call on the network. But according to the new service a subscriber would pay 110 MNT for a 50 second call.