Market regulator, the Telecommunications Office ordered the dominant fixed line operator Slovak Telekom, a.s. (ST) to adjust wholesale prices for call termination in its network. "Call termination prices at off-peak hours will decline by approximately 54 percent and at peak hours by over 40 percent, based on this decision," reported the spokesman of the Telecommunications Office of the Slovak Republic (TU) Roman Vavro. The office calculated prices using the method by which it checked prices calculated by Slovak Telekom. This will mean a wholesale price drop for fixed line interconnections and generate prerequisites for price reduction for end users. The operator must submit an adjusted reference offer to the regulatory authority within thirty days of the date on which the verdict becomes valid, namely the day of its delivery.
According to a the regulator's decision from December 2005, Slovak Telekom, as an important company, has been obliged to set prices for call termination in its network so that it only includes costs linked to connection provision, complying with the price calculation method set by the Telecommunications Office. "Slovak Telekom was obliged to submit its price calculation and input information to the Telecommunications Office, updated in line with the model outlined by the Telecommunications Office," said Mr. Vavro. The operator submitted this information in the second half of last year. After data verification, the regulator initiated administrative proceedings against the operator at the end of the year dealing with price adjustment for call creation and termination in the ST network and consequent changes to the reference offer. Slovak Telekom appealed the verdict, which the Telecommunications Office chairman, as a second-instance administrative authority, examined and decided on.
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