KIEV, Ukraine-The Ukrainian parliament passed a law prohibiting carriers from charging any incoming calls and causing protests from all national operators, which appealed to President Leonid Kuchma to veto the bill.
Ukraine became the only European country where the national parliament decided to interfere in the tariff policy and legitimize the calling party pays (CPP) principle. Lawmakers said they defend the rights of the consumers, who should not be charged for someone else’s call. Lawmaker Boris Bespaly, who initiated the bill, said the law would make wireless communications “cheap and accessible” and considerably increase the penetration level.
“As the market of mobile communications is monopolized in Ukraine, there is a danger of a plot of the carriers regarding an increase in prices on incoming calls,” he said.
But carriers, all of which are charging incoming calls, resolutely protested and appealed to the president. “We ask you to the use the right of veto and return the bill for reconsideration” to parliament, said a letter to Kuchma signed by Utel, Ukrtelecom, Ukraine Mobile Communications (UMC), Golden Telecom, Wellcom, Kyivstar and the TELAS association of carriers.
They were backed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine, which said the bill “contradicts the very nature of free enterprise” and will “ruin investment plans of many important market participants and will heavily damage investment attractiveness of many Ukrainian enterprises operating in the communications market.”
The carriers warned the bill would decrease their incomes and tax payments to the budget. They also predicted that most clients would prefer landline phones where no outgoing calls are charged. Carriers said they will have to raise monthly fees, which will scare off clients and send the industry into a crisis.
Ukraine, with a population of 50 million, has 3.3 million wireless communication clients.
President Kuchma has not responded so far.
