The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) has finalised the latest Call Termination Regulations (CTR), with plans to gazette the new glide path on Friday.
The final 2018 CTR, which is effective October 1, follows the completion of a review of the 2014 CTR and is the culmination of an extensive consultative process that started nearly a year ago.
The regulations stipulate a further downward glide path for the price operators charge to terminate calls on their networks.
The amendments will see operators with more than a 20% share of total minutes terminated in the wholesale voice market reduce the charges for call termination at a fixed location to 9c from October 2018; 7c from October 2019; and 6c from October 2020.
Call termination charges from mobile locations will be 12c from October 2018; 10c from October 2019; and further down to 9c from October 2020.
Smaller operators with 20% or less share of total minutes terminated in the wholesale voice market will be required to reduce their fixed location charges to 10c from October 2018; 8c from October 2019; and 6c from October 2020.
Charges for terminating a call at a mobile location will now be 18c from October 2018; 16c from October 2019; and 13c from October 2020.
”The cost models formed part of the authority’s multi-input process that helped inform the authority on the appropriate level of wholesale CTRs operators should be able to charge.
“We do hope that the regulations will enhance an effectively competitive information and communication technology environment,” Icasa explained.
The authority believes the wholesale CTRs as contained in the final regulations will aid in transitioning the market towards a more competitive landscape as contemplated in the Electronic Communications Act.