Business

South Africa to cut mobile rates

13 November 2009

South Africans will be charged 36 cents less for mobile phone calls from early 2010 after the country's operators agreed to reduce their mobile termination rates, Communications Minister Siphiwe Nyanda announced on Thursday.

Addressing Parliament in Cape Town this week, Nyanda said that Vodacom and Cell C would cut their rates in February, while MTN would do so on 1 March. The three operators had agreed to cut their termination rates to 89 cents per minute in peak times and to 77 cents in off-peak times. South Africans are currently charged R1.25 a minute in peak times.

Vodacom, MTN and Cell C have also committed to introducing new and affordable retail products based on the new rates from December.

Nyanda said the reduced fees were a step in the right direction. "This is putting money back in the pockets of ordinary South Africans, who need it more now than ever.

"I have been assured that these developments will introduce more competition in the retail market," he added. "That, on its own, is the big early Christmas and Easter present that we can give to the nation."

The new tariffs would only be introduced in 2010 because the network operators said they needed time to adapt their systems. The systems and business models of a number of small businesses also depend on the interconnection rate.

"We view the reduction of costs to communicate in a serious manner, not just on the wholesale but also the retail level," Nyanda said. "Further negotiations will be held with the network operators.

He added that he would be presenting the new interconnection rates to the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa).

Source: BuaNews