Anti-competitive telecoms industry

[Dave A]

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.

[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