Telenor Cuts Roaming Charges

FORNEBU, Norway -- By drastically cutting roaming prices Telenor makes it cheaper and more predictable for their Norwegian customers to use their mobile phones when travelling in Europe.

The cost of a call for private subscribers will be up to 50 per cent cheaper, while prices for business customers will be cut by up to 40 per cent. According to an estimate based on last year's traffic volumes the price cuts amount to approximately NOK 170 million.

"Norwegians travel a lot both for work and pleasure, and they want to use their mobile phones when they are away. Our aim is to make significant price reductions and simplify the pricing plans to make it more attractive to use mobile phones on holiday or when away on business in Europe," says Morten Karlsen Sørby, Executive Vice President and Head of Telenor's Nordic mobile and fixed-line operations.

When Telenor customers are travelling in Europe, they will be charged one price whether they make calls to Norway, to another country in Europe or locally within one of the European countries. In addition, the new price structure will be simpler, in that Telenor will operate with only two zones: the Nordic region and Europe.

In parallel with these changes, Telenor is introducing a similar zone system (Nordic and Europe) for mobile data traffic where prices are being simplified and cut. The current price for business customers in the Nordic region is NOK 15 (excl. VAT) per Mb, while in Europe the price will be reduced to NOK 32 (excl. VAT) per Mb. For countries in Eastern Europe, this involves a price reduction of 60 per cent.

"Clearly we have the best data traffic prices for customers travelling abroad, and we are pushing forward by introducing the same zone system for data and voice prices," says Morten Karlsen Sørby.

Telenor Group (Nasdaq: TELN)