Ref: 15/00
Date: 13 March 2000

Prices of mobile telephone services fell by 17% during 1999 according to Oftel figures published today.

Pre-pay customers saw the biggest reductions with prices down 23% on the start of last year, but all mobile phone users have benefited from reduced charges.

Oftel has today published an index of price changes for mobile telephony services over a 12-month period from January 1999, both for the market as a whole and for different types of mobile phone user.

Included in the index are connection charges as well as call charges. The actual cost of any handset is not considered although prices have been adjusted to take account of any handset subsidies.

Last year Oftel undertook a review of the mobile market and concluded that competition was increasing to the benefit of consumers but was not yet fully effective. Since then Oftel has been monitoring price trends to establish whether competition has continued to drive down prices.

Price information was collected from all of the four mobile network operators.

Commenting on the report, David Edmonds, Director General of Telecommunications said today:

"Prices of mobile phone services continue to fall.

"Our review shows that increasing competition means consumers really are getting cheaper calls from their mobile phones. This supports Oftel’s view that competition is the best way to deliver lower prices.

"Network operators and independent service providers are increasingly offering greater choice of prices and services.

"I will continue to monitor prices and publish further results every quarter. Oftel will also carry out a further review of the mobile market, starting later this year.

"In addition, in 1999, the prices of calls to mobile telephones were reduced as a direct result of Oftel action. On average, these prices are now around 25% lower than a year ago, providing another major benefit to consumers.

"Oftel will continue to work with both fixed and mobile operators to improve price transparency to help ensure that customers are aware of the best available deals. This should reduce prices still further."

Notes to Editors

1.  A summary of the results entitled A Price Index for Mobile Telephony is available on Oftel’s website.

2.  Oftel commissioned National Economic Research Associates (NERA) to design the model used in this exercise. A consultation on the proposed model was published in September 1999. Mobile Price Monitoring is also available on Oftel’s website.

Back to Press Release Index