Communications regulator Icasa has printed last amendments to its termination fee laws that may see inter-network name charges lower on a barely much less aggressive (however nonetheless steep) glide path.
Name termination charges are the regulated charges that cell and fixed-line operators cost one another for carrying calls between their networks. They’ve been diminished progressively over for the previous 20 years with the purpose of slicing to the price of cellphone requires customers.
“Modifications to the decision termination charges had been effected after consideration of oral and written submissions by stakeholders,” Icasa mentioned within the doc, which was printed within the Authorities Gazette on Monday.
“To tell the dedication of the decision termination charges, Icasa examined not solely the scope of the cost-modelling outcomes (value of termination providers) but in addition thought-about a variety of different contributing elements,” it mentioned.
Icasa cited a “skewed aggressive panorama”, the impact of know-how in converging the mounted and cell markets, the have to be constant in its regulatory strategy, a comparability with worldwide markets and the targets of the Digital Communications Act as among the elements thought-about in making the amendments.
The regulator beforehand supposed to chop the present cell termination fee (for big operators) of 9c/minute to 7c/minute on 1 July 2024 after which to 4c/minute on 1 July 2026. The brand new amendments suggest a lower to 7c/minute on 1 July 2025, shifting the speed lower out by a yr. An extra lower to 5c/minute is scheduled a yr later, in 2026, with the lower to 4c/minute solely coming into impact on 1 July 2027.
Smaller operators
An analogous delay for small cell operators has been proposed. The lower from the present 13c/minute to 9c/minute that might have taken place on 1 July 2024 will now occur a yr later in 2025. In 2026, the speed might be lower to 5c/minute, with a last discount to 4c/minute scheduled for 1 July 2027.
Fastened-line termination charges had been supposed to go from the present 6c/minute to 4c/minute in July. As an alternative, the charges will step right down to 5c/minute on 1 July 2025, 4c/minute in 2026 and can then drop precipitously to 1c/minute in 2027.
Learn: Telkom warns Icasa name fee cuts will punish smaller gamers
Icasa intends to cast off “asymmetry” within the charges between small and enormous operators, saving the privilege for “new entrants” who’ve lower than three years out there. “Cellular termination charges will transfer to symmetry inside a transitional interval of 12 months,” mentioned Icasa.
Smaller operators Telkom and Cell C have beforehand hit again at Icasa for this choice, arguing that asymmetry within the charges shouldn’t be determined based mostly on a “time out there” definition.
“The proposal to drastically lower termination charges with out sustaining asymmetry will disproportionately profit dominant gamers, result in income loss for smaller gamers and don’t have any direct profit to the tip shopper,” mentioned Cell C CEO Jorge Mendes on the public hearings on the matter in June.
“Asymmetry stays very important to rebalance the distortions out there and is important for smaller gamers to current even a slight aggressive constraint on the dominant gamers,” he mentioned.
Telkom, however, mentioned Icasa’s use of a “trendy know-how equal” mannequin to find out fixed-line asymmetry charges put it at a drawback and punished the operator for “making good technological choices up to now”. – © 2024 NewsCentral Media
Get breaking information from TechCentral on WhatsApp. Join right here
