Macau people have been complaining loud about high service fees charged by Companhia de Telecomunicacoes de Macau (CTM), the local monopolizing telecommunication company. They want fees to be as cheap as those in Hong Kong.

For years, CTM has enjoyed the monopolized franchise of telecommunications in Macau. It owns all the telephone facilities and is also the sole provider of mobile service, Internet service and IDD international call service.

Last October, Hutchison, the telecommunication giant in Hong Kong, and SmarTone, a joint venture of Delta Asia Financial Group (Macau) and Hong Kong SmarTone, were granted license to operate mobile business in Macau.  As they are now busy preparing to enter the local market, CTM's monopoly will no longer exist.

Many people hope that the new companies can bring more competition into the market and thus lower fees of mobile service.  Many people are ready to switch to the new companies, thinking that they will charge less than CTM.

In order to keep the current customers and to attract more new ones, CTM reduced all the service fees except the home telephone service starting on February 9. The rate for mobile service is reduced by as much as 17%, IDD service 45% and the Internet service 15%.

CTM claimed that they would earn a hundred million less this year because of the fee reduction.  But consumers do not seem to be impressed.  Jeffery Yuen, a general managing clerk said, "CTM should reduce more.  I think they can still afford lower prices."

Alice Lou, a director of a nursery, said, "Of course, the lower the price, the better it will be."

The Macau government is now studying the possibilities of opening up the Internet market.  In the future, people may be able to enjoy various telecommunications services via different service providers.