Interconnect policy directive officially withdrawn
Communications Minister Siphiwe Nyanda announced in early November that South Africa’s three mobile operators – Vodacom, Cell C and MTN – have unanimously agreed to cut the peak interconnect rate by 36c from R1.25 per minute to 89c per minute. The current off peak interconnect rate of 77c per minute will remain unchanged.
This announcement came a month after Nyanda issued a policy directive to cut interconnect rates. The ‘policy direction on mobile termination rates’ directed ICASA to:
- prescribe the regulations in terms of the Act;
- take into consideration the benchmarking study on the cost to communicate concluded and published by the department in 2009, and any other relevant studies or information; and
- lower the interconnection rates, specifically the mobile termination rate, to a cost-based rate.
Nyanda has now officially withdrawn the policy direction on mobile termination rates, stating in the Government Gazette published on 10 December that “I, Gen (Ret) Siphiwe Nyanda, Minister of Communications, hereby withdraw the proposed policy direction on Mobile Termination Rates published in Government Gazette No. 32640 on 13 October 2009.”
It is understood that the regulatory process under section 10 of the Electronic Communications Act will continue – which may mean that more interconnect rate cuts are in the pipeline – but it is not clear what impact the withdrawn policy directive will have on the ICASA process.
Interconnect policy direction – discussion
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