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Prices for mobile calls in Finland still cheapest in western Europe
13/06/2006
Rates fell by a fifth in the 12 months to April 2006.
According to the results of a survey published by Finland’s Ministry of Transport and Communications on 7th June, mobile call charges in Finland continue to be the cheapest in western Europe, with rates having fallen by a fifth in the twelve months preceding the survey. Carried out in April 2006, the survey covered call charges in 18 countries: Finland, the other EU-15 Member States, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland.
Data collected covered a total of 56 types of post-paid consumer subscriptions, and subscriptions with two, three or four operators were included for each country. The “price basket” employed consisted of 150 minutes of weekday, weeknight and weekend calls each month, 25 SMS text messages, a monthly subscription charge and value added tax. The basket of charges also included call-initiation fees.
In almost all the countries included in the survey, call charges had either fallen or were at the same level as 12 months earlier. The largest reductions were found in Sweden, Switzerland and Finland, while call charges in both Greece and France were clearly higher. The price differential between the least-expensive and most-expensive countries increased by almost 20 per cent in the 12 months to April.
Larger countries have the highest call charges
In Finland, the cost of the survey price basket was EUR 15,90. Countries ranking immediately after Finland were: Sweden (EUR 18,10); Luxembourg (EUR 21,20) and Denmark (EUR 22.60). Countries with the most expensive call charges were Germany (EUR 46.80); the UK (EUR 43,40); and France (EUR 43.30).
The price of the average call-charge basket, weighted by the number of subscriptions in all the countries included in the survey, was three per cent lower than in March 2005. Changes in call charges varied considerably between different countries, with the most substantial decline, 41 per cent, being recorded in Sweden. The extent of price variations in larger countries was usually only small. The survey did not cover prices for 3G mobile services because they are not yet in widespread use.
Finland’s Ministry of Transport and Communications is responsible for two broad sectors of government: transport policy and communications policy. The ministry’s stated mission is to promote national well-being and the efficient operation of society by guaranteeing citizens and industry access to safe and reasonably-priced high-quality transport and communications connections. The ministry is also responsible for furthering the competitiveness of Finland’s transport and communications industries.
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