Anti-competitive telecoms industry

[Pap_sak]

I see all the recent media excitement about an imminent reduction in interconnection fees is smoke. At least the reason why the competitions board never tackled the issue has become evident - government is/was the major stakeholder.

Talk about self-interest

What is needed to move this forward is to disconnect interconnection fees and final-charge-to-client as issues. Keep the final fee to client the same for the transition. Just have it so that less money is going to the network supporting the recipient's call and more money goes to the service supporting the person making the call.

All the recipient network has to do is put the call through, using much the same technical infrastructure as has to be in place for their clients to make calls in the first place.

The calling network has the same technical infrastructure costs plus the marketing and distribution channel costs, and the job of collecting the money.

How the service providers can put on a straight face and claim the interconnection fee as a proportion of total charge is anywhere near related to actual cost portioning is beyond me.

Yup. Same as banks adverts and how they are "there for you"...Then hit you for R14 for Debt Orders - which, in this country, you can only cancel for 3 months - if the supplier wants to put it through again,it will go through, not the banks problem. Anyway R14 for an automated process??? How many debit orders go through a month anyway...millions.

[Dave A]

At last, real action!

South Africa's telecoms regulator has finally taken the bull by the horns and announced its plan to regulate interconnection rates.

The Independent Communication Authority of South Africa (Icasa) announced on Thursday that it would be slashing interconnection rates by 27% in July this year -- from the current rate of 89c per minute -- to 65c.

It also announced a "glide path" that would see the interconnect rate cut to 50c in July 2011 and 40c in July 2012
full story from M&G here

[I Robot]

Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) to hold public hearings in respect to the draft call termination regulations

22 June 2010

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa hereby invites all interested parties and the media to the public hearings in respect to the draft call termination regulations released on 16 April 2010.

The level of call termination charges has been a cause for concern in South Africa for some time. During 2009, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa conducted a market review of the provision of wholesale call termination services.

ICASA released its proposals on the outcome of this review in the draft "call termination regulations" on 16 April 2010 in Government Gazette No. 33121, where the authority proposed, amongst others, the need for a cost oriented price cap on both mobile and fixed call termination rates.

The closing date for written submissions on these draft regulations was 18 June 2010, by which time ICASA had received 20 written submissions.

The public hearings on these draft regulations are to be held as follows:

Date: 28 to 30 June 2010
Venue: Bytes Technology Centre, Midrand, Gauteng
Time: 10h00 to 16h00

More...

[Dave A]

Vodacom, South Africa's largest cellphone operator, said on Tuesday it has lost about $79-million in the last three months due to a regulatory rate cut.

South Africa's communications regulator in March forced wireless operators to reduce their interconnection fees, the rate they charge to use each other's networks.

Vodacom, which is majority owned by Britain's Vodafone, has cut its rate for peak calls by nearly 29% to 89 cents minute.

That has cost it about R600-million so far, a Vodacom spokesperson told Reuters.
full story from M&G here

Just to be clear - did Vodacom drop its interconnection fee or the rate they charge their customers?

I'm a Vodacom customer and I didn't notice a drop in what I'm paying.

So where did this "lost" revenue come from then?

[I Robot]

Operators granted extra time to submit additional information on Draft Call Termination Regulations

2 July 2010

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa held public hearings from the 28 to 30 June on the draft call termination regulations.

These regulations seek to reduce the wholesale price licensees charge each other for reaching their customers from the current commercially agreed upon scenario to a regulated rate based on the cost of providing such a service.

Stakeholders raised a multitude of concerns, chiefly around the proposed glide-path and how this may negatively affect their businesses. These concerns were raised mainly by Vodacom, MTN, CELL C and NASHUA. Counter to this, however, was the desired result of enhanced competition that would ultimately benefit consumers through a reduction in retail prices.
In the interest of balancing the triple mandate of this exercise of ensuring fair prices to consumers, promoting competition in the ICT sector whilst ensuring a favourable investment environment, the Authority has granted stakeholders until Friday, 9 July 2010 to make further written submissions to the Authority.

The authority will review all the written and oral submissions over the next few weeks and inform all stakeholders of progress in this regard.
The authority is therefore of the view that the granting of extra time to provide additional information pursuant to the public hearings held this week could have an effect on the issuing of the final regulations and the implementation date for rate reductions. The authority will however keep the public informed of further developments in this regard.

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