“I will be very disappointed if the cellular operators do not pass on the interconnection rate cut to consumers,” said Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) chairman Paris Mashile at the end of yesterday's Parliamentary hearings.
Mashile was speaking to ITWeb, following a three-hour session during which the telecommunications regulator presented its plan to ensure the mobile termination rate, also known as the interconnection rate, would be reduced in terms with the provision of the Electronic Communications Act.
According to ICASA, it is well on track to ensure all legal requirements will be met in terms of the deadline set by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Communications last year. The committee wants all the regulations finalised by the end of June, which is when Mashile's term as ICASA chairman ends.
Ismail Vadi, committee chairman, said if the deadline slipped due to reasons out of ICASA's control, then Parliament would accept this.
An industry observer who was present at the hearing and who asked not to be named, because he did not have a mandate to speak to the media, said court cases could be expected towards the deadline. “There is a lot of money involved in the interconnection rate and don't expect either the networks or others with an interest to just roll over.”
Coming to the party
All three of the major cellular networks have agreed to drop the peak interconnection rate by 36c, to 89c a minute, by 1 March. Telkom announced yesterday it would make a similar cut for its fixed-to-mobile rates.
ICASA has approved the cellular network operators' cut, but not yet the Telkom announcement, Mashile said.
He also expressed sympathy with sentiments by members of Parliament that the rate cuts seemed not to benefit the poor. “I agree with that and that is why I feel that the pay-as-you-go rates are totally exorbitant,” Mashile said.
He said the reasons given by the network operators for the high per minute rate charged to prepaid customers do not make sense, as the money had been received upfront. The main reason historically given by mobile operators for charging higher rates for prepaid is that prepaid subscribers are higher risk than contract subscribers, whose credit history has been checked.
No specific plans were presented to tackle the prepaid issue.
Later, ICASA presented to Parliament its plans to ensure its council and executive branches improve their working relationships.
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