Injunction lifted on MACRA interconnection law

The High Court of Malawi upheld the decision by MACRA to introduce the new interconnection law governing calls across networks which were stopped by Celtel (Airtel) and Telekom Networks (TNM) after they obtained an injunction from the High Court of Malawi restraining MACRA from imposing the SKA regime on the operators.

All operators have not come up with their position based on the ruling. Airtel Malawi MD Saulos Chilima told Bizcommunity that they needed to meet as a company first before coming up with their position.

4/4 interconnection ruling

It began on 5 February 2004 when MACRA imposed the interconnection rate, which is the additional rate that fixed and mobile operators are supposed to charge over and above their normal tariffs when one makes a call from one network to another network, to be US$0.04/ US$0.04 per minute.

This four cents interconnection rate was imposed on the operators by MACRA through its 4/4 interconnection ruling after the operators had failed to agree among themselves on the agreeable interconnect rate.

MACRA PR manager Zadziko Mankhambo said the 4/4 interconnection ruling was of an interim nature as it required the operators to come up with their own voluntary interconnection agreement within 12 months from the date of the ruling.

It was immediately after MACRA had made the SKA ruling, that Airtel Malawi then operating as Celtel Malawi Limited together with Telekom Networks Limited (TNM) obtained an injunction from the High Court of Malawi restraining MACRA from imposing the SKA regime on the Operators.

"As a result of the injunction, MACRA's SKA ruling was put on hold and the 4/4 rate continued to govern the interconnection regime," he said.

Injunction lifted

But having heard arguments from MACRA as well as Airtel and TNM, the High Court of Malawi on 23 December 2010 delivered its ruling where it lifted the injunction and also vacated the leave for judicial review that had been granted ex parte. MACRA has since said its expectations are that the Operators will comply with the High Court ruling by implementing MACRA's SKA ruling.

"This means therefore that the court's decision vindicates the legality and rationale of MACRA's decision to intervene in the interconnection dispute that currently exists among operators," said a statement from MACRA after the ruling.