The new increases in CYTA’s flat rate have aroused strong feelings to the Authority. Speaking during the House Commerce Committee’s session, CYTA Chairman, Stavros Kremmos, said that the current flat rate of £8.15 has sent away 40,000 subscribers in the past three years.

Mr. Kremmos said that the flat rate is disproportionately high compared to the call charges and stressed that CYTA would like to reduce it but the Telecom Regulator disagrees. “The Authority submitted a number of proposals for the reduction of charges by all companies operating in Cyprus. Cyprus could have been exempted by the EU rules due to its size”, he added.

“These interventions restrict the development of EAC. So as not to hit competition, the Authority has not developed a mobile telephony network in the past three years, something that benefited the private companies”, he noted.

Similarly, DISY MP, Lefteris Christoforou said that the steady telephony charges are high and cause problems to the lower classes of population. “The competent services must find a way to reduce charges, especially the fixed telephony flat rate and the broadband services, in which Cyprus ranks last in the EU”, he said.

Chairman of the Consumer and Quality of Life Association, Loucas Aristodemou, said that the fixed telephony charges have burdened the consumers and must be cut the soonest possible.