MONDAY, 7.00PM:
LOCAL phone calls could go up by 25% early next year if plans submitted to the SA Telecommunications Regulatory Authority are passed. During business hours, the cost of a call from a home or business could go up by 7,7 cents per unit from January 6 1998, while a unit on a payphone could cost 10 cents more. The increase will not affect Telkom’s after hours callmore time.
On the upside, the cost of long-distance calls could drop by 13,2 percent during standard time and eight percent during callmore time.
Telkom also outlined its proposed increases to installation costs and rentals. Satra has not yet responded to the submission. Telkom chief operating officer Mac Geschwind said: “One has to see this increase against an increase of 115 percent in capital expenditure, 150 percent in our five-year training budget, 65 percent in net line growth and 25 percent in overall customers service levels.”