Macquarie Telecom Introduces Single Local Call Rate Across Queensland

Townsville City Council first to realise savings from simplified call costs

Sydney, Australia – 6 April 2006 – Macquarie Telecom today announced a single local call rate in Queensland which enables business and government customers to call anywhere across the state for a flat-rate of 10 cents.

Queensland currently has 15 different call zones which means businesses and government face a raft of STD rates when calling from city to city, charges calculated on a per minute basis and complex billing and administration.

Macquarie Telecom's single call rate eliminates this cost and complexity by creating a single call zone for the whole of Queensland.

According to Macquarie Telecom's State Manager for Queensland, Nick Lovell, “Macquarie Telecom is committed to providing the best possible value for business and government customers and breaking down barriers to doing business in the State.”

“The single call rate will help Queensland organisations significantly reduce their telecommunications spend, improve their ability to forecast expenses and simplify administration,” Lovell said.

Townsville City Council signs on for more cost savings

One of the first Queensland organisations to benefit from Macquarie Telecom's single call rate is Townsville City Council.

Since moving to Macquarie Telecom in 2004 the Council estimates it has saved more than $20,000 a month in telecommunications charges. Council expects to increase these savings with the introduction of the single call rate.

“This is a significant restructure of telecommunications pricing from Macquarie Telecom that benefits not only the Council, but the whole Townsville region,” said Councillor Dale Parker. “Macquarie Telecom has made a very positive step to improve the affordability of telecommunications services in regional areas.”

Specific benefits for Queensland business and government customers include:

• Ability to reduce call costs without investment in expensive new infrastructure to support alternative technology such as Voice over IP
• Reduced telephone costs from variable STD rates to a flat local call rate of 10 cents for up to 45 minutes
• Simplified administration with a single cost for all telephone calls within the state
• Increased communication with customers, partners and branches statewide as a result of cheaper telecommunication costs

Macquarie Telecom has been a champion of local call deregulation in Australia. In 1997 it led the charge by commissioning an independent study that showed the cost to Telstra of supplying local calls was well below the 20-25c it charged service providers and end users alike.

Macquarie Telecom then fought for four years to achieve government deregulation which has resulted in around a 40 per cent drop in local call charges across the country.

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For more information:
Mandy Galmes
N2N Communications
02 9213 2302
agalmes@n2n.com.au

About Macquarie Telecom

Macquarie Telecom is a leading supplier of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) solutions – including voice, data, mobile and hosting – specialising in the business and government markets. Its dedicated managed hosting and security facility, the Intellicentre, is certified to BS 7799 and DSD Gateway security standards.

Macquarie Telecom provides services to 3,000 business and government customers in Australia and Asia, supporting more than one million business users at work every day. Founded in July 1992, it is one of Australasia's first deregulated telecommunications companies. It expanded its operation into Asia in 2000, and holds carrier licenses in Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong.