Cable & Wireless executive, Chris Heatherington

The telecoms company says that some mobile network operators are holding costs artificially high and it’s time for lower charges that will benefit consumers and Caribbean nations as a whole.

Chris Hetherington, Cable & Wireless Chief Executive, Americas & Caribbean, said: “Consumers need to know the facts. When they call a mobile phone from a landline, as much as 85 per cent of what they pay goes to the mobile operator just for delivering the call – and does not include billing, marketing or any other value-added services.

“We believe the cost to consumers is too high and landline users should no longer be forced to subsidise mobile networks in this way. Regulators have a duty to ensure that such call delivery charges are based only on cost and yet, rates in most Caribbean territories remain excessively high and way above cost. Therefore regulators must act to enforce lower MTRs immediately.

“We hope consumers join our call for lower charges, as they will benefit from cheaper telephone calls,” adds Hetherington. “We will only stop campaigning on behalf of customers once the cost of delivering calls is cut by a substantial margin.”