On Friday, three firms - mobilkom, a daughter company of Telekom Austria, Czech Radiocommunications in collaboration...
On Friday, three firms - mobilkom, a daughter company of Telekom Austria, Czech Radiocommunications in collaboration with the Penta financial group and the Spanish Telefónica, submitted bids for a third mobile operator licence in Slovakia.
Gauged against salary, Slovaks are paying the heftiest mobile phone bills in Central Europe. Hopes are that the entry of a third mobile operator will push prices down. One of the suitors, mobilkom, has already promised lower tariffs.
Pre-paid cards present even greater differences compared to prices in Slovakias neighbourhood. While Czech operators charge CZK 5,50 (SKK 7,46) for daytime calls within their own networks, and CZK 7.50 (SKK 10,17) to the competition, Slovaks pay respectively SKK 9,50 or 14,25.
On the basis of the average wage, Czechs may call twice as often as a Slovak consumer. Analysts therefore see space for a third operator on our market in the pre-paid cards segment.
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