Telkom has finally provided details about its planned cuts in local call rates. The company published its annual tariff filing last week, announcing that local call rates were coming down, but didn’t provide details of by how much they would fall when the new fees take effect on 1 August.

The JSE-listed telecommunications operator has now revealed that the cost of a peak-time local call will fall from 43,4c/minute to 42c/minute on 1 August — a decline of 3,2%. At the same time, long-distance calls (national calls over a distance of greater than 50km) will fall from 65c/minute to 57c.

The post-paid peak-time rate for a local call will remain unchanged at 20,7c/minute, while the long-distance off-peak tariff will come down from 32,5c/minute to 28,5c. There is a 65c and 57c minimum charge for all local and long-distance calls during peak and off-peak times respectively, though calls are charged per second after that.

Fixed-to-mobile calls will fall from R1,48/minute to R1,40, with the off-peak tariff reducing from R1,17 to R1,12, billed per minute for the first minute and for every 30 seconds thereafter.

The cost of installation of a new residential line is going up to R139,97, from R133,30 now. Business customers will have to fork out R191,84, from R182,70 currently. The cost of basic line rental is also being increased by 5%.

The cost of international calls is coming down as competition from alternative operators bites into Telkom’s business. The cost of a peak-time call to the US or the UK from a Telkom fixed line will fall to just 60c/minute on 1 August, from 70c now. — Staff reporter, TechCentral