The high court in Johannesburg on Monday found that communications regulator Icasa’s 2014 call termination regulations were “invalid and unlawful” but said the cuts to termination rates will take effect as planned on 1 April for a period of six months. Judge Haseena Mayat granted a final order in favour of MTN and Vodacom, but used her
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Communications regulator Icasa’s 2014 call termination rates are “invalid and unlawful” but the cuts to the rates will take effect as planned on 1 April for a period of six months, high court judge Haseena Mayat ruled on Monday. Mayat said she was exercising her
Recent events are evidence of unprecedented pressure on mobile network operators to lower their prices. Yet a sober analysis reveals that the networks are really their own worst enemies, and can turn their fortunes around by simply lowering prices. The latest proposed cuts in the mobile termination (interconnection) rates are the most
Communication minister Yunus Carrim on Thursday welcomed a Special Investigating Unit (SIU) probe on the Universal Service & Access Agency of South Africa (Usaasa). “We welcome the SIU proclamation on Usaasa. Obviously it is regrettable, but the proclamation is absolutely necessary in view of the persistent allegations against Usaasa
A lack of regulation in the mobile network market would likely harm consumers, the high court in Johannesburg heard on Wednesday. Kate Hoffmeyer, for Cell C, argued that if MTN and Vodacom were granted interim relief through the court suspending Icasa’s 2014 regulations, this would result in the market being
Cellphone network operators MTN and Vodacom took their fight against the introduction of new call termination rates to the high court in Johannesburg on Tuesday. The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) has conceded there are problems with its proposed model for mobile termination rates. These are the
Text messaging may be dying out as a means of communication in many parts of the advanced world, but it may yet prove to be a vital life-saver in flood-prone African villages. An early-warning system that aims to capitalise on the explosive growth of mobile phone
On the eve of an historic court battle between Icasa and mobile operators MTN and Vodacom, the communications regulator has revealed in papers filed at the high court in Johannesburg that it intends reconsidering its proposed cuts to call termination rates. In an answering affidavit submitted to the high court, Icasa says it has
It is no exaggeration to claim that the coming week will be make or break for affordable mobile communications in South Africa – quite possibly for the next 20 years. On 1 April 1994, Vodacom and MTN launched a service in South Africa, a launch brought forward to support the Independent Electoral Commission in managing the first
The mobile operators are fighting the wrong war, and they’re squaring up to the wrong enemy. They should be fundamentally revising their business models to prepare for Google, Facebook and Microsoft, which are taking aim directly at their voice business. Let us take a step back. For well over a decade, South