MTN and Vodacom have agreed to lower cellphone termination rates, MTN SA announced on Friday.
”MTN SA can confirm that an agreement has been reached with Vodacom, and is pursuing bilateral negotiations with Cell C and other operators,” the company said in a statement.
The two parties reached an agreement based on the parameters set in earlier negotiations, which had been under way for some time.
”However, it is with regret that no agreement has been reached with Cell C at this stage.”
Interconnection rates are the fees one network charges another for receiving calls on its network.
MTN said the bilateral negotiations took place in terms of the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) regulations, which had oversight over the process.
The parties proposed an approximate 19% immediate reduction of the blended wholesale interconnect tariffs, with further reductions year-on-year for the following three years.
This reduction cycle would enable MTN SA to make the necessary changes to its operations and long-term commitments to reflect the decrease in interconnect rates.
The two parties would now need to lodge
the agreement with Icasa for their regulatory oversight.
”MTN SA is pleased that progress has been made in the negotiations, and will continue to engage in good faith with other parties as part of the Icasa process to resolve outstanding interconnect agreements,” the company said.
The announcement comes in the wake of public hearings held by the National Assembly’s communications committee last week, when
MPs and others urged the mobile networks to cut their internconnect rates, currently at R1,25, to help make communications more affordable.
Independent Democrats leader Patricia de Lille called the agreement ”totally unacceptable”.
”Vodacom and MTN have cashed in billions of rands over the past eight yeras from the South African public,” said De Lille.
”It just shows you the arrogance of them, who still want to rip off South Africans by charging them high interconnection rates and simply ignoring the public outcry.”
De Lille said that the 19% decrease would only amount to 24 cents, far below Parliament’s desired 65 cents.
She added that Vodacom and MTN had ”isolated” Cell C from the agreement because the company had publically disagreed with them over interconnection rates. – Sapa