Authority aims at ensuring public gets the best deal

Maltacom is set to lose its monopoly as the sole gateway for international calls when Vodafone, whose application to enter the field is currently being processed by the Malta Communications Authority, expands its operations and enters into this sector.

Authority chairman Joe Tabone said that although Maltacom's international gateway monopoly officially comes to an end next January, Vodafone would still require some more time for all equipment to be in place before it could start operations, if the process was plain sailing. The MCA has as yet not received any other applications.

Speaking at a news conference at the launch of the authority's strategic plan, which should take it to 2005, he said that Melita Cable had initially expressed an interest in fixed telephony. Although the company was still interested in pursuing that line of business, it had put off its plans for the time being.

Communications Minister Censu Galea said that in the past two years, the number of mobile telephony subscribers had increased from 20,000 to 250,000. This meant that within two years, mobile telephony has overtaken fixed line telephony.

The minister said there was also strong development in the provision of internet services and a code of practice for internet service providers had now been published.

He said that by next January, all sectors of telecommunications would have been liberalised.

Speaking about the plan, the chairman said that MCA's plans were to achieve liberalisation and sustainable competition in the telecommunications and postal sectors, and ensure that the public gets the best deal by way of value for money services and social inclusion.

The authority wants to create an environment conducive to investment in telecommunications infrastructure and services.

The authority also wants to promote and support the development of e-commerce, and ensure the consolidation of the institutional and organisational elements necessary for its proliferation.

The MCA has planned a sizeable programme for the coming three years in order to achieve its objectives.

These include building the regulatory infrastructure by publicly consulting and issuing the relevant decisions concerning aspects such as: paving the way for competition in fixed telephony by setting the rules for the introduction of mechanisms as carrier selection and pre-selection; introducing number portability as a means to enhance competition; reviewing tariffs via price caps and other mechanisms until competition kicked in; and setting and ensuring adherence in quality of service standards in telecommunications, internet and postal services.