10.06.2008

Mobile calls inexpensive in Finland

An international basket comparison of mobile call prices shows that Finland is among the countries with lowest voice call and SMS charges in Europe. Mobile broadbands are also reasonably priced in Finland.

According to a price basket comparison commissioned by FICORA, the domestic call charges of Finnish mobile operators are among the lowest in Europe. The survey included the old EU Member States (the EU-15) and Estonia, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland. The survey is a continuation to the annual international comparison of mobile call rates previously published by the Ministry of Transport and Communications.

The survey was conducted by comparing three price baskets depicting the habits of different user groups. The first basket included 50 three-minute calls and 25 text messages depicting a user who usually makes only a few short calls. The second basket included 100 three-minute calls and 100 text messages, and portrayed a user whose main means of communication is a mobile phone. The third basket comprised 100 ten-minute calls, 200 text messages and 50 MB mobile data. The basket represents users who employ the different features of their phones in diverse ways.

In the survey, three largest mobile operators in terms of number of subscriptions were chosen from each country. The average prices are based on the operators' most inexpensive subscriptions and are weighted by the market shares of the companies.

Based on the survey, Finland has the lowest rates when comparing the first two baskets and the second lowest rates in the third basket. In Finland, the weighted average price for a month's calls and text messages in the first basket was 12.74 euros. The average of all countries in the survey is 29.19 euros. Regarding the first basket, Finnish rates and the average of the EU countries were lower than in 2007. The average cost of mobile phone use modelled in the second basket was 19.89 euros per month in Finland. The average of the countries compared was 54.72 euros. In Finland, the average price of the third basket was 51.92 euros per month whereas the corresponding average of all countries was 145.94 euros.

In addition, mobile broadband prices were compared in the survey. According to the comparison, Finland has the lowest rates for fixed-price mobile broadbands. The average price of a mobile broadband in Finland was 9.84 euros per month. The average of all countries in the survey amounted to 31.99 euros per month.

FICORA's survey was carried out by Pöyry Telecom Oy. The price information was collected from the websites of the operators and other public sources. The information was gathered in April 2008 and indicates the rates valid on 1 April 2008.

The survey results will be published in English. In the meanwhile, the results can be found in Finnish on the FICORA website www.ficora.fi (Tutkimukset ja tilastot, Puhelin- ja laajakaistapalvelut)

Further information:

Päivi Peltola-Ojala, Communications Market Specialist, tel. +358 9 6966 732