Lebanon cuts pre-paid card calling rates in half

Lebanon’s new telecoms minister Butros Harb has issued a decision ordering state-owned incumbent telco Ogero to cut the price of pre-paid domestic and international calling cards ‘Telecarte’ and ‘Kalam‘ by 50% from 1 April 2014. The pre-paid card domestic fixed line calling rate is reduced to LBP50 (USD0.033) per minute from LBP100 per minute, while the rate for domestic mobile calls made via the cards is also halved to LBP100 per minute. For international calls, pre-paid card users will now pay LBP300 between 7am and 10pm, and LBP200 for the rest of the day, also a reduction of 50%. The move was made to better serve low-income users and to revive usage of the pre-paid cards. Although not mentioned in the minister’s statement, it has been officially confirmed by the United Nations that Lebanon now has over one million registered Syrian refugees within its borders.