Trade Ministry urges telecom companies to halt changes to prepaid subscription fees

AMMAN — The Ministry of Industry and Trade on Thursday  asked telecommunications companies to halt any tariff changes for prepaid lines. 

The ministry also called for companies to refrain from imposing operating charges on pay-as-you-go lines, or modifying existing offers to increase fees.

A ministry statement urged each company individually to reconsider the implementation of new offers to ensure that existing customers have the freedom to choose between maintaining their current lines or switching to newly-introduced packages.

The ministry said that legal action, as outlined in the Competition Law, will be taken should the companies fail to comply, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

According to the statement, a Competition Department study showed that the three telecom companies are moving towards increasing mobile service prices for prepaid subscribers without presenting them the option of retaining their current lines or choosing new offers.

The study indicators pointed to an implicit agreement among the three companies to pursue this direction in violation of the provisions of the Competition Law.

The Competition Law prohibits any overt or covert practices, coalitions or agreements that distort or restrict competition, including matters related to setting prices for goods or services.