The third annual survey of mobile phone running costs carried out by Finland’s Ministry of Transport and Communications shows that charges in Finland continue to be among the lowest in Europe.
The countries included in the survey were all the EU Member States, plus Iceland, Norway and Switzerland, and private subscription services from a total of 61 operators were surveyed.
Comparisons were based on a ‘price basket’ comprising: 150 minutes of weekday and weekend calls to subscribers using the same and different operators; calls to fixed-line subscribers; 25 text messages; a monthly subscription charge and value added tax.
The results of the survey show that people in Finland pay just €31.09 compared to €50.47 in the UK. In Switzerland, the most expensive location covered by the survey, people pay an average price of €63.33.
According to Finland’s Ministry of Transport and Communications, mobile phone running costs in Finland have fallen steadily and are now 6% lower than in 2001.
Sirkka Aura, chief executive of Invest in Finland, a government funded agency that assists and supports direct investment into Finland, commented, “Finland is one of the global leaders in the development of wireless and web convergence and is well known for its industry leaders like Nokia. The mobile industry has experienced a period of exceptional growth during the past ten years with the next wave of growth expected to come from mobile services.
“Being able to offer a competitive price for the use of new technologies is a huge advantage for companies locating operations here where an early adopter marketplace provides a great test bed for new services.
“The wireless entertainment industry, for example, which creates, publishes and distributes entertainment services and games for mobile devices is a new and growing sector that can benefit from the many advantages the Finnish business environment offers.”