Telecom Eireann plans to slash overseas rates

By Andrew Bushe

DUBLIN — The cost for friends and families keeping in touch with emigrants will drop significantly from next month when Telecom Eireann cuts the cost of calls to the U.S. and Canada by 21 percent and to the UK by 16 percent.

The falls are part of a £145 million a year price-cut package of cheaper calls including the introduction of per second bill on local calls after an initial minimum 11.5p charge for three minutes. This will to result in savings of 7 percent on local calls.

From June 8, calls to the U.S. and Canada during the day will reduce by 21 percent from 29p per minute to 23p. The evening rate will drop by 13 percent to 20p a minute and the weekend rate by 11 percent to 17p a minute.

Calls to the UK during the day will reduce by 16 percent from 19p per minute to 16p. The evening rate will drop by 14 percent to 15p a minute and the weekend rate by 15 percent to 13p a minute.

The cheaper calls came as it was revealed that more than a quarter of the population have registered to buy shares in Telecom Eireann, which is to be floated in New York, London and Dublin later this year.

So far 913,000 people — 38,000 of them children under 18 — have registered out of a population of 3.6 million.

The registration process, which is still not closed, is only open to people with Irish addresses and will entitle them to priority when shares are expected to be issued next month.

"International experience suggests that anything between 15 and 45 percent of registrations convert ultimately into share applications."

The government is planning to sell at least 20 percent of the company, but no details have been released so far of just how much will be on offer and at what price.

The share offer, which will be the first of a number of flotations of state companies, is expected to be many times oversubscribed.