The three year agreement, announced recently by Robert Calcagno, Government Counsellor for the Environment, Equipment and Urban Planning, Gilles Tonelli, Government Counsellor for the Economy and Finance, and Denis Martin, Monaco Telecom’s CEO, is designed to enhance Monaco's competitiveness and stimulate the local economy. EUR4.5 million will be invested by the Monaco government under the agreement.

Also under the agreement, rates have been reduced for landlines, mobile phones, internet and data by 20% to 41.7%, depending on the type of communication. For example, for mobile phones, Monaco Telecom’s client companies will see all outgoing calls made within Europe drop from EUR1 to 59 cents per minute.

For individuals, the main changes include a 40% decrease for calls made on a mobile to the European region, and a "real" 15 Mbps. These is also now free access to wireless internet in public places. Six hotspots are already offering this free service (Port Hercule, the station square, place des Moulins, the Heliport, Princess Antoinette park and the square in front of Decathlon), and five others are currently under consideration.

The Monaco government says that it intends to forge ahead with the implementation of new communications technologies, and is planning to develop video on demand and DSL television by 2008.