Telecoms regulator the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) has published the final Call Termination Rate Amendment Regulations.
Voice call termination is the service that one network offers another to carry voice traffic to its end-users.
The charge for this service has been the subject of concern, where it has been viewed as a constraint to effective competition, as well as a driver of high retail prices of telecommunications in South Africa.
According to ICASA, these regulations are part of the broader measures to reduce the cost to communicate in the country.
In a Government Gazette, ICASA says from 1 July 2025, the maximum call termination for large operators will be R0.07, while the termination rate to a fixed location will be R0.05.
The regulator adds that from 1 July 2026, the maximum call termination for large operators will be R0.05, while the termination rate to a fixed location will be R0.04.
From 1 July 2027, the maximum call termination for large operators will be R0.04, while the termination rate to a fixed location will be R0.01.
For new entrants – licensees who have been in the market for a period of less than three years – from 1 July 2025, the maximum call termination will be R0.09, while the termination rate to a fixed location will be R0.06.
The regulator adds that from 1 July 2026, the maximum call termination for new entrants will be R0.07, while the termination rate to a fixed location will be R0.05.
From 1 July 2027, the maximum call termination for new players will be R0.05, while the termination rate to a fixed location will be R0.02.
ICASA points out that new entrants will qualify for asymmetry for a limited period of three years after entry into the market.
In March, ICASA published the draft amendments to the Call Termination Regulations, of 2014 and 2018, for public comment.
It then moved on to conduct hearings about the call termination rates where licensees presented their cases.
Smaller mobile operators –Telkom and Cell C – were largely against the implementation of the proposed call termination rates.
In an interview with ITWeb, Jorge Mendes, CEO of Cell C, said the company wanted the rates to be pushed back by at least three years.
He argued that the draft call termination rates would be disastrous for smaller players such as Cell C, while benefitting the Vodacom and MTN duopoly.
Telkom group CEO Serame Taukobong shared similar sentiments, pointing out that this would not promote competition but rather entrench the currently skewed market structure.
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