FORM
6-K
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
Report
of Foreign Private Issuer
Pursuant
to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16 of
the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
For May
5, 2010
Commission
File Number: 001-33271
CELLCOM
ISRAEL LTD.
10
Hagavish Street
Netanya,
Israel 42140
________________________________________________
(Address
of principal executive offices)
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under
cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F.
Form 20-F
__X__ Form
40-F _____
Indicate
by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted
by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1):
Indicate
by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted
by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7):
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the information contained in
this Form is also thereby furnishing the information to the Commission pursuant
to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Yes _____ No
__X__
If “Yes”
is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the registrant in
connection with Rule 12g3-2(b): Not
Applicable
CELLCOM
ISRAEL LTD. ANNOUNCES ISRAELI MOC CONSIDERING INTERCONNECT TARIFFS
REDUCTION
NETANYA,
Israel, May 5, 2010 – Cellcom Israel Ltd. (NYSE: CEL) (the "Company") announced
today that following the previously reported examination conducted by the
Israeli Ministry of Communication, or MOC, regarding interconnect tariffs
payable by cellular operators, the MOC announced it is
considering changes to the Israeli regulations which set interconnect
tariffs among Israeli operators, as follows:
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to
reduce the maximum interconnect tariff payable by a landline operator or a
cellular operator for the completion of a call on another cellular network
from the current tariff of NIS 0.251 per minute to NIS 0.0414 per minute
from August 1, 2010; to NIS 0.0354 per minute from January 1, 2011; to
0.0311 per minute from January 1, 2012; to NIS 0.0280 per minute from
January 1, 2013; and to NIS 0.0257 as of January 1,
2014.
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to
reduce the maximum interconnect tariff payable by a cellular operator for
sending an SMS message to another cellular network from the current tariff
of NIS 0.0285 to NIS 0.0019 from August 1, 2010; to NIS 0.0017 from
January 1, 2011; to NIS 0.0016 from January 1, 2012; to NIS 0.0014 from
January 1, 2013; and to NIS 0.0013 from January 1,
2014.
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the
tariffs do not include VAT will be updated annually from January 1, 2011,
based on the change in the Israeli CPI published in November of the
preceding year against the Israeli CPI published in January
2010.
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The
Company and the other cellular operators may respond to the proposed changes
within 30 days, at which time the MOC is expected to make a final determination.
The Company can not assess at this stage the ultimate outcome of the hearing and
what the final maximum tariffs will be, but it is reviewing its possible effect
on its results of operations. If the changes as currently proposed are adopted,
then, absent any efforts to mitigate the expected loss of revenues, the
currently proposed changes are expected to have a monthly adverse effect
estimated at this stage to amount to approximately NIS 35 million on the
Company's EBITDA and approximately NIS 25 million on the Company's net income,
from August 2010. As the Company intends to take measures to mitigate as much as
possible the expected adverse effects of such proposed changes, through revenue
enhancement as well as cost reduction, the Company cannot estimate at this stage
the actual effect of the changes, if adopted. The Company intends to
object strongly to the proposed changes but cannot predict the ultimate outcome
of such objections.
For
additional details see the Company’s most recent annual report for the year
ended December 31, 2009 on Form 20-F under “Item 3. Key Information – D. Risk
Factors – Risks related to our business – We operate in a heavily
regulated industry, which can harm our results of operations" as well
as under "Item 4. Information on the Company – B. Business Overview –
Competition" and "Government Regulations –Tariff Supervision”.
Forward Looking
Statement
The
information contained in this press release contains, or may be deemed to
contain, forward-looking statements (as defined in the U.S. Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and the Israeli Securities Law,
1969). Said forward-looking statements, relating to the reduction of
interconnect tariffs and its influence on the Company's results of operations,
are subject to uncertainties and assumptions about the outcome of the aforesaid
hearing and the Company's ability to mitigate the expected lost revenues.
The Company's ability to mitigate the expected lost revenues could lead to
materially different outcome than that set forth above.
About Cellcom
Israel
Cellcom
Israel Ltd., established in 1994, is the leading Israeli cellular provider;
Cellcom Israel provides its approximately 3.292 million subscribers (as at
December 31, 2009) with a broad range of value added services including cellular
and landline telephony, roaming services for tourists in Israel and for its
subscribers abroad and additional services in the areas of music, video, mobile
office etc., based on Cellcom Israel's technologically advanced infrastructure.
The Company operates an HSPA 3.5 Generation network enabling advanced high speed
broadband multimedia services, in addition to GSM/GPRS/EDGE and TDMA
networks. Cellcom
Israel offers Israel's broadest and largest customer service infrastructure
including telephone customer service centers, retail stores, and service and
sale centers, distributed nationwide. Through its broad customer service network
Cellcom Israel offers its customers technical support, account information,
direct to the door parcel services, internet and fax services, dedicated centers
for the hearing impaired, etc. As of 2006, Cellcom Israel, through its wholly
owned subsidiary Cellcom Fixed Line Communications L.P., provides landline
telephone communication services in Israel, in addition to data communication
services. Cellcom Israel's shares are traded both on the New York Stock Exchange
(CEL) and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (CEL). For additional information please
visit the Company's website www.cellcom.co.il
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Company
Contact
Yaacov
Heen
Chief
Financial Officer
investors@cellcom.co.il
Tel:
+972 52 998 9755
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Investor Relations
Contact
Porat
Saar & Kristin Knies
CCG
Investor Relations Israel & US
cellcom@ccgisrael.com
Tel:
+1 646 233 2161
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Signatures
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has
duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto
duly authorized.
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CELLCOM
ISRAEL LTD.
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Date:
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May
5, 2010
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By:
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/s/ Liat
Menahemi Stadler
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Name:
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Liat
Menahemi Stadler
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Title:
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General
Counsel
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