Douglas Mboweni, chairman of the Telecommunications Operators Association of Zimbabwe and CEO of Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, warns the telecoms industry might be forced to suspend access to international calls due to high foreign termination rates imposed on Zimbabwe mobile operators.
Rex Chibesa, CEO of Telecel, says this is a problem for Zimbabwean mobile networks that are vying for survival.
Subscribers make lengthy international calls because of low international tariffs, which costs mobile operators, as they have to pay their international counterparts termination rates in foreign currency, Chibesa explains.
In a statement, Mboweni said the country is losing millions in foreign currency earnings through sub-economic termination rates for international calls.
"Unsustainable tariffs for international calls have made Zimbabwe operators a net payer of foreign currency to foreign operators."
For an hour-long telephone call from Zimbabwe to SA, at a rate of ZW$77.60 ($0.31), a mobile phone operator will earn less than ZW$5 000 ($20 bank rate or $1.40 on the parallel market). Of this amount, ZW$2 250 ($0.70) will be used to pay termination rates.
The operators will be mandated to pay half of the money they earn as termination rates, making it difficult to meet other operational needs which require foreign currency, according to Zimbabwean online activist Web site Kubatana.
Clogged links
In the statement, Mboweni confirmed operators are failing to process some international calls because of the unprecedented increase in international phone traffic.
He noted people are taking advantage of the cheap international tariff rates, which continues to clog links to international calls.
"Outgoing traffic has increased dramatically and, as a result, the outgoing links to call international destinations are invariably always full."
Tackling termination rates
Mobile telecoms operators are trying to deal with unrealistic tariff rates on international calls in Zimbabwe, causing loss of company revenue, confirms Chibesa.
Telecel and other Zimbabwean mobile operators like Netone and Econet are lobbying for the Posts and Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (Potraz) to tackle the issue of termination rates, he adds.
Potraz recently agreed to let the mobile operators increase their tariffs, pegged within imposed limits. However, the allowance has not taken into account the termination rates of regional and international calls paid in foreign currency, according to Kubatana.
Chibesa believes Potraz is making headway towards a solution.
Rumours surfaced in newspapers last week that Zimbabwean mobile operators had started limiting international calls. The operators cited the unavailability of foreign currency to pay for termination fees, charged by foreign networks to connect mobile calls to recipients in their countries.
Chibesa says Telecel has not yet begun limiting outgoing international calls due to unrealistic tariffs on international phone calls.
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