The 48 telephone companies and administrations that make up the Consultative Committee on International Telephony & Telegraphy have agreed unanimously to reduce iniquitously high accounting rates, which keep the cost of international telephone calls artificially high by favouring the operator at the end of an international call that charges the higher rates, thus putting a disincentive on efficient carriers that want to cut prices: the Financial Times reports that accounting rates should be cut to the point where they reflect actual costs within one to five years.
