NORTHERN Ireland's new cable television and telecommunications operator, CableTel, has said it would cut the cost of telephone calls between the North and the Republic by up to 23 per cent.
CableTel is a US company which was awarded the new cable franchise for the North in May 1995 and is currently constructing its network. It has said it will charge national tariffs for cross Border calls and offer substantial savings on the prices charged by British Telecom and other operators.
CableTel, which is investing £600 million sterling in the 15 year licence, is offering television and voice telephony services to both business and domestic customers in the North. It has already started cabling parts of Belfast.
CableTel's managing director, Mr Owen Lamont, said the company's network extended further than the fibre optic connections currently being laid in the North. "We have direct access to a world wide telecommunications network which allows us to provide great value national and international services to our customers," Mr Lamont added.
Calls to the Republic were a considerable part of telephone usage in the North, particularly in Border areas, according to Mr Larnorit He claimed that a 15 minute mid week evening rate call from Belfast to Dublin would cost 72.3p with CableTel, a 17 per cent saving on current rates. A similar call from Derry to Letterkenny would be 21 per cent cheaper than BT at 19.4p, he claimed.
CableTel would offer its customers "competitively priced cross Border calls, as well as tremendous savings on calls within Northern Ireland," Mr Lamont said.
CableTel, which has to pay the British government £216 million in fees over the life of the franchise, has given a commitment to provide cable TV and telephone access to 80 per cent of the houses in the North (428,000) by 2003. The company is also targeting its telephone service at the business community, and intends to offer Internet access to computer users.
CableTel, which is quoted on the NASDAQ market in the US, submitted the highest of four bids for the franchise, which is one of the largest.in. Europe. Its bid was almost twice the size of the second largest offer.
CableTel subcontractors expect to employ 800 to build the network over the next seven years, and the US company will employ a further 400 staff in sales, marketing, and technical support.
