It appears that SA politicians are getting increasingly fed-up with the country’s mobile operators.

ANC MP Ismail Vadi, chairman of parliament’s portfolio committee on communications, has joined communications minister Siphiwe Nyanda and Independent Democrats leader Patricia de Lille in criticising Vodacom, MTN and Cell C for their apparent attempt to impose cellular interconnection rates for the next three years.

Vadi has told TechCentral that the portfolio committee believes the proposed interconnection amendment agreement submitted to the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) by the three cellular operators is “wrong in law and represents an attempt to predetermine interconnection rates for a prolonged period, which is both unreasonable and legally indefensible”.

The companies have been under pressure to reduce the rates, which are the fees they charge each other and other telecommunications companies to carry calls onto their networks. The rates have been set at a relatively high R1,25/minute during peak times and at 77c during off-peak periods for the past several years. Critics say the rates serve as a club to prevent new competitors from emerging. They also keep retail rates higher than they could be.

Vadi says the practical effect of the proposal from the operators is to “tie the hands of Icasa and prevent it from discharging its lawful responsibilities”.

Vodacom, MTN and Cell C want a glide path that will result in peak-time interconnection rates falling from 89c/minute in March 2010 to 80c/minute in 2012 and 2013. They have proposed the off-peak rate remain unchanged at 77c/minute throughout this period.

“The portfolio committee believes that its original proposal of an immediate reduction in interconnection rates to 60c/minute is desirable,” Vadi says. “However, it accepted the cut to 89c as an interim measure to be implemented by 1 March this year, of course after endorsement by Icasa. There should be no conditions attached to this interim measure.”

Vadi says that although the portfolio committee supports the principle of a glide path in the rates, the precise fees and timeframe must be determined by Icasa and not by the mobile operators negotiating among themselves.

He says the committee will invite Icasa to appear before it immediately after the president’s state of the nation address, which will be delivered next Thursday, to give a progress report on its work with respect to interconnection rates. — Duncan McLeod, TechCentral

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