New phone company speeds up network installation

Maltatel, the new telephony company offering a fixed line service with rates as low as 1c per call during peak time, is expected to give Maltacom "a hard time" once it starts operating, according to its general manager Mario Gatt.

Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Mr Gatt said the Gozo-based firm, behind which was the United States giant telephony company ICM Inc, was accelerating the setting up of its network as the Malta Communications Authority had granted it a licence at the end of February. The company had originally estimated the service would have been launched by May.

The network, which does not need any cables hanging to buildings, runs on the basis of a number of bay stations, being set up in different localities, that transmit signals to a 30-centimetre antenna installed on the roof of households opting for Maltatel's service. Mr Gatt said the antennas do not pose a health hazard.

"The company could take 30 per cent of Maltacom's market share by the end of the year as people are thirsty for competition," Mr Gatt said, adding that Maltatel's strong point will be its very competitive prices which, he promised, "will remain unchanged".

Once connected, a subscriber would be able to make and receive calls from Maltacom, Vodafone, Go Mobile and Maltatel subscribers and also make overseas calls to any international number.

Compared to Maltacom's rates, Maltatel's rates as announced by Mr Gatt seem unbeatable at first glance. While a five-minute call during peak hours will cost 1c, a 30-minute call at night would also cost 1c. Moreover, Maltatel's fixed line to mobile phones rates will be 7c per minute in the case of Go Mobile and 6c per minute in the case of Vodafone, against Maltacom's 12c4 per minute.

Overseas calls will also be "competitive", with a three-minute call to the UK, for example, costing just 6c compared with Maltacom's 21c3 for the same duration.

Users will pay Lm5 on subscription (Lm1 of which should be given to charity), which fee is not refundable. They will also be charged a Lm20 installation fee, a subscriber unit charge of Lm15 monthly in the first year, which are refundable when a customer stops the service, a one-time Lm10 payment for the connection box and an annual rent of Lm25.

Mr Gatt said the company had planned to use Maltacom's network and then have its own network at a cost of Lm17 million later. But on being granted a licence by the MCA, a decision was made for Maltatel to start operating via its own network immediately, Mr Gatt explained.

The company is to operate a call centre from Gozo and would be employing 80 people. Installation is expected to start in April in Gozo but other localities will be reached in the following six months.