20c interconnect rate suggested
The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa’s (ICASA’s) public hearings for the Draft Call Termination Regulations wrap up today, and the various operators have forwarded strong arguments for and against ICASA’s glide path proposals for fixed and mobile call termination rates.
Smaller operators, especially players like Vox Telecom and ECN which run converged networks, argue that ICASA’s proposal of a differentiation between fixed and mobile call termination is an archaic concept in the age of IP networks.
Smile Communications further highlighted that ICASA’s argument that VoIP calls should be classified as fixed line calls is flawed as future LTE and 4G mobile calls will be done using VoIP technology.
Vox Telecom MD Douglas Reed points out that it is not fair for a small operator like Vox to be forced to interconnect at 15c while they have to pay Vodacom or MTN 65c, effectively subsidizing the large mobile operators.
There has been a strong call to ICASA to scrap any differentiation between fixed and mobile calls, and set a symmetrical call termination rate of between 20c and 25c per minute.
This proposal will, according to some of the smaller players, ensure that fixed line businesses are not significantly impacted and also have the added advantage of creating a more competitive mobile environment.
One industry expert pointed out that it is already possible to use a mobile phone with a Vodacom SIM card in it to make a voice call over Wi-Fi without ever touching the Vodacom network. This converged fixed/wireless network clearly demonstrates the futility of trying to classify a network or call termination as fixed or mobile, he argues.
The concept of peak and off-peak call termination rates have also been criticized by various telecoms players – including Cell C, ECN and Vox Telecom – praising the regulator for the proposal of doing away with this exercise in South Africa.
Call termination rates << what do you think should happen?
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