Minister of Communications Moshe Kahlon is continuing his reforms in the mobile market by extending them to end-user devices. Following his reforms that led to the establishment of new mobile carriers, which cut call prices dramatically, he is promising to do the same for end-user equipment.
"Within a couple of weeks, there will be a reform in end-user devices. We will create a free market and the sale of devices will not be dominated by the mobile carriers. I will forego all authority on end-user devices. The smartphone will be like any other imported product, like furniture, and not controlled by the carriers. The market will be flooded with smartphones, as it is overseas, and they will not cost as much as they cost now at the big carriers," Kahlon told “IDF Radio" (Galei Zahal).
"I am the means, not the goal. Moshe Kahlon is not the important thing," he added in a remark about his personal promotion. Asked about market assessments of thousands of job losses at mobile carriers Cellcom Israel Ltd. (NYSE:CEL; TASE:CEL), Partner Communications Ltd. (Nasdaq: PTNR; TASE: PTNR), and Pelephone Communications Ltd., he said, "I don’t understand this talk about layoffs. After all, we brought new players into the mobile market, we expanded competition, which should also create new jobs."
Kahlon spoke about the market failures, which drove him to launch the reforms in the telecommunications market. "Everyone in Israel used to pay NIS 25 for an internet line. Why? It's as if you go to a cafe and pay separately for the coffee and the cup. There were a thousand things that I could not get my head around. I want to take the opportunity to praise the mobile carriers. There is no conflict between me and them and they are toeing the line."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 15, 2012
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2012