Telstra Sweetens Sackings With Cheap Calls

Newcastle Herald

Saturday March 11, 2000

aap

WHILE Telstra continues to come under fire over its plan to axe 16,000 jobs, the telecommunications giant is attempting to win back public favour by offering cheaper telephone calls.

Telstra plans to introduce new 15? `neighbourhood calls' from Monday, allowing residents to call people who live within their local exchange area at a cut-price rate.

The company says it also is targeting cheaper internet access, extended $3 capped evening calls from fixed phones to Telstra mobiles between 7pm and midnight and other means of boosting its market competitiveness.

Telstra's managing director of commercial and consumer marketing, Amanda Lacaze, said the introduction of the 15? neighbourhood call would aid country residents in particular.

`On average, nearly half of the local calls made by country customers will qualify as a neighbourhood call, thereby decreasing 10? per call from the previous standard rate,' Ms Lacaze said.

`This is on top of Telstra's reduced standard local call rate of 22?, announced last week as part of a change in the local call pricing structure.'

Customers have been advised to refer to the prefix guide in the White Pages to find the telephone prefix they are calling from and match it to corresponding prefix areas to get the neighbourhood rate.

© 2000 Newcastle Herald

Back to News Index | Back to Home