TELECOM Eireann has announced a series of price reductions on long distance calls to countries in Europe and the Middle East.
Call charges to neighbouring European countries at both standard and reduced rates will fall by 10 per cent from today.
Mr Padraig Corkry, spokes man for Telecom Eireann said the price reduction in European calls aimed to encourage business links between European and Irish firms. Small businesses, he believed, would benefit most from the reductions.
Calls made to Europe at standard rate (8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on working days) will fall from 43p per minute to 39p. The reduced rate charge (calls made between 6 p.m. and 8 a.m. on weekdays and at the weekend) will also fall from 38p to 33p per minute.
Telephone call charges to Middle Eastern countries fall by 37 per cent. The average per minute price will drop from £1.74 to £1.09.
Telecom is reducing call charges to Thailand by 17 per cent, from £1.74 per minute to £1.45.
This move, said Mr Corkery, would bring calls to Thailand into the same price bracket as other countries in the Pacific region.