Bulgaria's Globul Slams Slashed Rates Ruling

Bulgaria's second-biggest mobile operator Globul, a unit of Greek Cosmote, said it will appeal the telecommunications regulator's decision to cut termination rates for calls made from mobile and fixed networks.

Bulgaria's Communications Regulation Commission (CRC) announced last month that it has drawn up a plan for a phased reduction of fees charged by operators in a bid to comply with European Commission recommendations. The final price cut is expected to range between 42% and 56% after July 1 2010. Bulgarian operators charge an average of EUR 0.1509 per minute, the highest in the EU.

Global representatives have described the step as "a draconian price reduction", which will affect negatively mobile operators and end-consumers alike.

"The implementation of CRC plan will hamper the development of the market and Globul investment plans, as well as the introduction of new technologies, the expansion of the network and our contribution to environment protection," the company said in a statement.

According to the mobile operation these consequences, coupled with the global financial crisis, will impact negatively the market and consumers.

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