In order to simulate healthy competition in the market, the prices of calls and text messages have been declined by the companies. The Commerce Commission believes that it will be able to d so.

A draft plan has already been issued which will be reducing the mobile termination rates for calls from around 14c per minute. This means that call rates will become 4.68 cents per minute. For the text messages the rates are going to be around zero as against 9 cents at the present.

These termination rates that are charged by the telecom companies when they terminate a call or sms which originate from rival network. The new rates are going to be applicable from April.

Said Ross Patterson, Telecommunications Commissioner that since the reductions are quite sharp they are going to bring about competition in the market.

Teleom market at present is dominated by a few big players and they are said to be charging whatever they feel correct. And since the smaller players have failed to expand themselves, such reductions are more than justified.

The proposal has been appalled by the Telecommunications Users Association of New Zealand.