TELECOMMUNICATIONS GIANT, Cable and Wireless Jamaica will be in for stiffer competition should plans by Mossel Jamaica, trading as Digicel Jamaica, materialise to establish its own directory assistance service.
At present, Digicel is only able to re-route 114 directory assistance calls from its network to the Cable and Wireless service. However, this has been costing a "pretty penny", according to Ian Thrush, Digicel's Pricing Consultant. He said Digicel pays an average of $25.24 to Cable and Wireless for each call, which is re-routed to the directory assistance service.
Consequently, he said Digicel was forced to bill its customers at $25.50 for each call.
While opting not to give details, Mr. Thrush said, "Digicel is very seriously exploring the options of establishing its own service."
Each local directory assistance call offers up to two listings. Fixed line customers are allowed to access the service free of charge for three times each month. However, each additional call is billed at a rate of $10.00, while mobile customers pay $20.00 for each call. Visually impaired customers, registered with the Combined Disabilities Associa-tion and who are contracted Cable and Wireless customers, are exempt from the charge. Additionally, calls to the network from a pay phone are free.
According to Errol Miller, head of Cable and Wireless' Corporate Communications, "the rates charged are very reasonable and are significantly lower than almost any where in the world in liberalised communications environments." He said that the main factor governing the charge for the service was the cost of providing it. But, according to him, "even at the present rates, Cable and Wireless is still not recovering the full cost for providing the service."
Mr. Miller also noted that 90 per cent of the numbers requested through 114 are listed in the latest edition of the telephone directory, which he said, is distributed to each customer.
