Vodacom and MTN play MTR trump card

You can bet that MTN and Vodacom will announce decreases in their retail tariffs before the end of the year, because thanks to a 19% reduction in interconnect charges, they have scope to do so.
With respect to Hilton I do not see how the drop in MTR between VC and MTN will provide any scope for them to reduce retail rates. He is however silent on the impact expected with regards VC & Telkom and MTN & Telkom re MTR as these agreements would in theory also have to be renegotiated.
 
More smoke and mirrors BS...Who knows exactly what the situation is? Who is the net payer?

It's clear why Cell C wants this system, and an immediate implementation. It is a net payer as Cell C subscribers make more calls to other networks, than the amount of calls made to Cell C from Vodacom and MTN users. Right now, as the smallest operator in the market, it would benefit most from asymmetric interconnect because it will make it possible for it to cut call charges more than the other operators are able to. http://mybroadband.co.za/news/Business/10193.html

or
and if i told you that cell c is a net receiver of interconnect fees ...

or
Based on some of Hilton's other incorrect perceptions I tend to place more value on dominic's comment. It is of course possible that both are correct if one assumes dominic's comment to be due to the Telkom asymmetrical effect and Hilton to be ignoring the Telkom effect. However I suspect in any event that the net cashflows are negligible in relation to the total turnover of the operators.

The problem now for Cell C is that, by not agreeing to the proposals from the two companies that account for the majority of the market, it is even more disadvantaged than before.

Only if guavament allows vodacon/mtn to dictate to them.

You can bet that MTN and Vodacom will announce decreases in their retail tariffs before the end of the year, because thanks to a 19% reduction in interconnect charges, they have scope to do so.

Oh yay! :rolleyes: We are now all happy and will conveniently forget everything.

Consumers shouldn't expect a 20% reduction in call prices, but even a 10% drop in certain tariffs will deflect a lot of political pressure and will help government accept the plan from the two dominant operators.

When they said this, a few paragraphs higher... :rolleyes:

The current blended rate is around 96c per minute. MTN and Vodacom say there will be an immediate 19% reduction in that number, with further reductions year-on-year for the following three years.

Ooohhh, yessss, I seeeee...they promise 19%, in order to con us into forgetting their previous collusion, then we should expect only half of the amount. Mmmm...My, we're such clever monkeys...Know any other tricks?...

Cell C won't be able to offer consumers those reductions in tariffs, as they'll be stuck paying the current interconnect rate which was agreed on a bilateral basis with both Vodacom and MTN when it entered the market.

What's the difference? Cell has no choices? Cell "must" accept the 19%?

I see it as simply changing tactics, keep informing the public and putting pressure on government to decline the vodacon/mtn 19%.

In this high stakes poker game, Cell C realistically has no other option but to fold and accept the new rules.

Nope, they need to simply make every south African aware of the collusion and corruption of vodacon/mtn, which led to this issue.
 
the more aware people become of how MTN and Vodacom have been screwing the public, the better, or would you not agree?

I'd agree, but how many NEW people are reading the articles? Is the meme spreading or stagnating amongst the same old incumbents?
 
(and yet another interconnect fee article...)

So don't read it if it bothers you.

Some of us, like myself, are actually following this on a daily basis. This article is providing fresh news - a new development has occurred. I've learnt alot about interconnect, and how VC and emptyN have been screwing us, and are trying to keep the status quo.

So keep the articles coming... The more detail we know the better.
 
I hope its declined. Time for icasa to man up
 
Hilton. With respect, you've completely missed the point.

Interconnection is not about bilateral agreements - it would be great if it were. It's about every operator having a natural monopoly on call termination on their network, and the ability to set any price they like for anyone else trying to call them.

As a result, large operators get together (read: collude) to agree on rates which are just low enough to make everyone think they care (and actually lie about the real numbers anyway), while placing a high enough barrier to prevent any real competition from new entrants.

If you were half the journalist you think you are, you would have read all about this over the past several years. Regulators in various jurisdictions, particularly Europe, have been very tough on mobile operators, and forced the fees down to fair levels, often ignoring the pathetic bleating of the fatcat executives.

For what it's worth, I notice that you happily published the number 78c alongside the figure 19%, without even trying to do the sums. The numbers you should be comparing are either the peak or the blended rates i.e. R1,25 drops to 99c peak. It's virtually impossible to arrive at a blended figure of 78c, unless most cell phone calls are made at night. Certainly, the impact for businesses will not be a substantial improvement, since most are already using LCR, which is priced around 99c peak anyway.

In other words, for your target audience - no change! Please bother to check a few facts before you write this rubbish. I guess you got it from the "lobbying" departments of Vodacom and MTN :(
 
so MTN and VODA are acctually in charge,they set regulations and everybody else MUST follow or else...!why do we have ICASA?Cell you either swim or sink,voda and mtn are in charge
 
so MTN and VODA are acctually in charge,they set regulations and everybody else MUST follow or else...!why do we have ICASA?Cell you either swim or sink,voda and mtn are in charge


Well either way they've dropped the rates, Cell C's being unreasonable by expecting an asymmetrical rate.
 
In this high stakes poker game, Cell C realistically has no other option but to fold and accept the new rules.

If that's not collusion and abuse of market power, then I don't know what is. It makes me sick to my stomach, really. Vodacom and MTN are doing everything in their power to protect their revenue stream and it's about time the Competition Commission takes them apart for it.
 
Well either way they've dropped the rates, Cell C's being unreasonable by expecting an asymmetrical rate.

It should have been an assymetrical rate when Cell C entered. Cell C is actually trying to right a historical wrong and I understand their argument. If there was proper governance when they entered the market, they'd be a bigger operator by now, but because of the way things are, they're still struggling to make a decent profit. The only way to get them out of the hole their in is reparations back-dated to their inception. No surprise, but government and ICASA screwed them over all those years ago, and here we are, years later, and still eating high cell phone costs. Vodacom and MTN must burn.
 
If that's not collusion and abuse of market power, then I don't know what is. It makes me sick to my stomach, really. Vodacom and MTN are doing everything in their power to protect their revenue stream and it's about time the Competition Commission takes them apart for it.

Couldn't agree more. F***kers
 
Now that I have canceled my MTN contract, I am going to switch the the old VM number I had. My wife still has a bit on her MTN contract and I am going to make damn sure that she calls me, all of the time.
 
It should have been an assymetrical rate when Cell C entered. Cell C is actually trying to right a historical wrong and I understand their argument.

Why should the other networks effectively subsidise them?
 
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