The roaming between the mobile telephony networks on both sides of the island started operating yesterday, a confidence-building measure which “tormented” the negotiations between E / K and T / K since 2013.
Victory of the two leaders
The way of interconnection, the prohibitive laws, the criminal responsibilities, the phobias and the red lines prevented until today the so-called interoperability of the mobile telephony, something that was overcome thanks to the persistence of Mr. Anastasiadis and Mr. Akindzi. The two leaders agreed last February as part of an effort to rekindle relations between various other CEEs, such as the interconnection of electricity networks that was implemented a few months ago and the roaming of mobile telephony, something that came true yesterday.
With… borrowed telephones
Nikos Anastasiadis and Mustafa Akinci launched roaming yesterday. The first call was made between them at 12.45 pm. with… loan phones. Mr. Akinci spoke by phone with a Greek Cypriot number borrowed from the special representative of the yen. UN Secretary-General Elizabeth Spehar, while President Anastasiadis also spoke on a mobile phone with a borrowed C / C mobile phone card. The call confirmed that the settlement is active and working properly.
Given the opportunity, the two leaders discussed the possibility of a meeting as soon as possible in order to assess the situation in relation to the current situation in Cyprus, as well as to promote more potential CMOs that will positively affect the daily lives of all Cypriots. In his message, Mr. Anastasiadis wished: “As we broke the barrier in communication, my wish, to remove the line that divides our country in two.” For his part, Mr. Akinci wished the measure a caloric and “inspired by this successful result, the solutions that will be beneficial for both communities to be expanded.”
In a message, Ms. Spehar congratulated the two leaders and noted that this is a step forward that will facilitate better communication and help Cypriots get closer.
How does it work
Roaming means that when mobile phone users with a connection to the companies licensed by KD are in the occupied territories they will be able to receive and make calls, send SMS and surf the internet. The same applies to users with connections of companies operating on the occupied side of the island. Until today, as it is known, mobile phones have reached the point where the range of the antennas of the companies with which the user was connected. In Kyrenia e.g. mobile phones with e / k numbers could not answer. And respectively the T / Cs in Paphos. Now, with roaming, it will be possible to receive a signal through the roaming process, while the most important thing is that the cost announced yesterday is not prohibitive for someone to put their phone in a roaming process when it is on the other side.
What mobile users will be charged
Detailed roaming charges that were announced.
Cyta: The service is activated by sending an SMS “ON ROA” 8000 and is deactivated by sending an SMS “OFF ROA” to the same number.
- Outgoing calls within Cyprus 29 rpm.
- Outgoing calls to EU / international destinations 85pm.
- Incoming calls 25 rpm.
- Send SMS 3.5 p / message
- Internet usage 20 s / Mbps
Epic: The service is activated by dialing * 136 # and deactivated in the same way.
- Outgoing calls within Cyprus 29 rpm.
- Outgoing to EU / international destinations 1.07 euros / min.
- Incoming calls 20 rpm.
- Send SMS 3 p / message.
- Internet usage 25 cents per Mbps
Primetel: The roaming service is activated by sending a free SMS “T ON” to 8133 and is deactivated by sending an SMS “T OFF” to the same number. Fees Primetel, which has been cooperating with a major European telecommunications provider for nine years, providing roaming services with the Occupied Territories, will differentiate its fees in the coming days.
- Outgoing calls within Cyprus 29 rpm.
- Outgoing calls to EU / international destinations 85 rpm.
- Incoming calls 20 rpm.
- Send SMS 3 cents / message
- Internet usage 20 cents per Megabyte
Meanwhile, according to t / k Mesa, it seems that in the occupied areas the roaming prices announced by the two companies for the users of t / c telephones are higher than in the free areas. We are talking about calls costing 39 c / l and text messages 29 cents each. It seems that the prevailing prices do not affect the competition, something that worried the companies in the free areas.
What to watch out for
Mobile service providers advise their customers not to have roaming with the occupied ones enabled on a continuous basis, except when going to the other side, so that in case they are near the dead zone, the roaming is not activated automatically and they are charged without they take it for granted.
