The recent High Court ruling on disputed mobile termination rate (MTR) regulations in South Africa was a “balanced decision”, taking into consideration consumers, the public interest and government policy aimed at lowering communications costs, according to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Communications.
HumanIPO reported on Monday the High cCourt of South Gauteng ruled MTR regulations published in January by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) are “invalid and unlawful”, allowing the legal challenges by dominant operators MTN and Vodacom which claimed ICASA did not follow statutory procedural requirements in arriving at the new regulations.
However, the court also exercised its discretion in the public interest, allowing the invalidated rules to be implemented as of April 1 for a period of six months, pending further review and revision by the regulator.
Welcoming the ruling, the committee said the drop in MTRs contained in the now implemented rules is “good news for consumers and for stimulating competition”.
“It is of utmost importance to government that people, especially those residing in remote rural areas, have affordable access to telecommunication services,” the committee said.
The committee called on all affected parties to respect the court ruling, and actively collaborate during the six month period to ensure regulations are put in place which support the aim of achieving affordable access to communications for the country’s whole population.
“[The committee] trusts ICASA will take the Judge’s comments to heart when conducting the new rates review. It will also be critical that all operators contribute positively, fully and transparently in this new process,” the committee said.
“We call upon the Department of Communications and the National Treasurer to ensure that ICASA is allocated the required resources to conduct this important task,” committee chairperson Sikhumbuzo Kholwane said.
HumanIPO reported on Tuesday MTN and Vodacom said the judgment “vindicated” their decisions to take legal action, while rival smaller operator Cell C said the companies had “frustrated” attempts at increasing market competition and pushing down communications prices.
Vodacom said it supports the overall aim of lower costs of communication, but takes issue with the high level of disparity in the asymmetric pricing provided for in the new regulations, decided on without a cost-based review – adding the newly implemented rates would cost the company ZAR1 billion (US$93.6 million) over a year timeframe, jeapordising ZAR9 billion (US$842.7 million) in infrastructure investment plans.
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