MGTS offers options "time"

The issue of introducing in Moscow time in the middle of the summer of 2002 has already been practically resolved. The departments can only coordinate the tariff that will be established for the use of local telephone connection.

The other day, the MGTS first sent to the Ministry of the Russian Federation for antitrust policy and support for entrepreneurship (MAP) its proposals to introduce a long payment for local phone calls. Within six months, MAP should approve new tariffs. After that, the MGTS will be able to introduce these tariffs into action.

MGTS offered two options for time payment. According to the first of them, the obligatory subscription fee should be reduced by 40%, and on permissive tariffing will be 5-10 kopecks per minute, regardless of the number of conversations. The second model offers a reduction in the fee by only 20%, a free time limit (600-700 minutes per month) and payment over the limit of 20-25 kopecks per minute.

Representatives of MAP do not disclose which of the options for tariffing they are ready to approve. "Vedomosti" , however, are sure that the cost of a minute of the conversation will be not lower than 10 kopecks.

Another question is actively discussed: discounts at night, when telephone lines are actively used primarily by Internet users. The management of the MGTS in principle according to. In the MAP, they speak in the spirit that at this time of the day "the counter can be turned off at all."

Meanwhile, the Moscow government, which is its long -standing opponent, intensified its speeches against the introduction of time. The government cannot directly ban the private company MGTS, and therefore Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov is going to rely on public opinion. According to him, a powerful public opinion, and primarily veterans and pensioners, should be formed against time.

The main question, however, is how much the mayor can delay the introduction of time. MGTS is ready to go to some compromises - but not to the detriment of the idea itself. For example, a list of telephone numbers is being prepared for which the calls will be free: clinics, social services, etc. In addition, MGTS said that she was not going to cancel the benefits of veterans and disabled people.