Living in Peru : your everyday companion

(LIP-ir) -- People that wish to make phone calls from a Telefonica del Peru (TdP) payphone will now be able to do so for less money and speak longer.

Beginning on February 23, calls made to cellular phones from Telefonica public phones will last 43 seconds and cost fifty cents (sol), while long distance calls (national) will last 42 seconds, announced OSIPTEL, Peru's telecommunications regulator.

With one sol, customers can currently call a cell phone and speak to another person for 55 seconds. TdP's new adjustment in rates has decreased the cost of a call 36 percent.

On the other hand, Telefonica del Peru has reduced its long distance rates 61 percent. For two soles, customers can make a long distance (national) call for 65 seconds. After February 23, fifty cents (sol) will give consumers 42 seconds of talking time.

The decision to change the cost of calls was made because of the amount of low-income households that rely on payphones as their only means of communication in Peru, explained Guillermo Thornberry, the president of OSIPTEL,

"Fifty-eight percent of households in Peru's urban areas rely on payphones as their only access to telecommunication services. They will benefit from the cheaper calls", said Thornberry.

It was reported that in September 2007, of the 170 thousand payphones located in Peru's urban areas, 154,137 belonged to TdP.