- Title: KOSOVO: Kosovo seeks to change Serbian phone prefix
- Date: 13th March 2008
- Summary: (BN10) PRISTINA, KOSOVO (MARCH 11, 2008) (REUTERS) PTK CALL CENTRE CALL CENTRE WORKER VARIOUS CALL CENTRE WORKERS USING COMPUTERS (SOUNDBITE) (English) PTK LEGAL AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS MANAGER, GENC LAMI, SAYING OF COSTS: "They were based on a commission basis. It cost Kosovo about 40 million euros in revenue a year for the usage of international dialling codes for Monaco telecom" DIALLING ON MOBILE PHONE (SOUNDBITE) (English) PTK LEGAL AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS MANAGER, GENC LAMI, SAYING: "This will enable Kosovo to enter into direct internet agreements with all countries of the world to offer telecommunications services, therefore it would reduce significantly the cost that PTK currently faces" VARIOUS OF CALL CENTRE WORKER COMPUTER SCREEN
- Embargoed: 28th March 2008 12:00
- Keywords:
- Topics: International Relations
- Reuters ID: LVA75IRTRLEIG1BV5GO31936RV5D
- Story Text: Kosovo begins the long process of changing its Serbian international telephone dialling code.
Kosovo has begun plans to acquire its own international telephone dialling code and to stop using a Serbian prefix after the country declared independence in February.
Kosovo has been in legal limbo under United Nations supervision since 1999, when NATO waged an air war to drive Serbian forces out and put an end to ethnic cleansing of Kosovo Albanians who make up 90 percent of the two million population.
In order to call Kosovo landline numbers, the prefix +381 needs to be used, which has been inherited from Serbia.
Some Kosovo Albanians are ready to pay more for mobile phone services, just to have a different prefix to Serbia's, while some operators pay Monaco Telecom to use their +377 prefix.
"Kosovo needs a prefix number because all the income from the prefix of cellular phones or landlines could flow into Kosovo's budget instead of budgets of other countries." said Prsitina resident Vedat Gjymshiti.
Local journalist Alma Lama commented: "Kosovo has a very complicated status regarding the prefix, we use the Serbian prefix for landlines and regardless of financial issues, this should be discarded. Kosovo is a country, it has declared independence and it should have elements of statehood, not only in the telecommunications but also in the banking and other fields."
To acquire a country code, Kosovo needs to be a member of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), an organization which looks for UN Security Council approval for its members. With Russia supporting Serbia's rejection of the secession of its former province, this seems unlikely.
"One of our main concerns is the country code or telephone prefix.
As everybody knows, without the code there will be no economic development and there will be no chance for Kosovo to properly enforce telecommunications laws because Kosovo has been operating in a chaotic way so far. We are considering as an urgency the beginning of the process of membership in the ITU (International Telecommunications Union) or to find a different way of receiving the prefix." said Kosovo 's Minister for Telecommunications Fatmir Limaj.
Some estimates suggest more than half of the profit from mobile telephony services goes to Monaco Telecom.
"It cost Kosovo about 40 million Euros in revenue a year for the usage of international dialling codes for Monaco Telecom." says legal advisor for the public telecommunications provider PTK, Genc Lami, adding that acquiring an international dialling code would dramatically change Kosovo's telecommunications market.
"This will enable Kosovo to enter into direct internet agreements with all countries of the world to offer telecommunications services, therefore it would reduce significantly the cost that PTK currently faces." he said. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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