ICASA approves reduced interconnection rates

The agreements provide for interconnection rates to drop from R1.25 to 89 cents, during peak period, as from 1 March 2010. The rate for off-peak period remains unchanged at 77 cents and as the agreements have no “suspensive resolutive" conditions that bind the authority or its processes, it holds that this reduction in interconnection rates will be passed through to the consumers.

ICASA has, however, informed the three mobile operators that they are obliged to re-negotiate all interconnection agreements they have with other licensees based on the non-discrimination principle in clause 8 of the Interconnection Guidelines of 2000.

Once these interconnection agreements have been renegotiated, they must still be filed for approval by ICASA, which will continue with its processes of introducing competition in the wholesale call termination market with the intent of lowering the costs of communications in South Africa.

To this end, ICASA will release draft Wholesale Call Termination Regulations in March 2010 for public and stakeholder comment before it publishes the final regulations by the end of June 2010.