In a move motivated in part by the Independent Communications Authority of SA's (ICASA's) recent termination rate cut, Telkom has extended its previously limited lowest on and off-net call rate to the rest of SA.
SIM-Sonke, an all-time low prepaid call rate introduced by Telkom Mobile in July for callers on the company's own mobile network, has been extended to include those on its roaming partner, MTN's, network - making the rate available nationwide.
Previously, customers were only able to make calls on the SIM-Sonke tariff where Telkom Mobile has network coverage.
Telkom says its all-IP 3G network is concentrated in urban areas that cover over 60% of SA's population. "A roaming agreement with one of the country's other mobile operators [MTN] enables Telkom Mobile to provide products and services nationwide as the entity continues the rollout of its own network."
Looking back on the company's motivation behind introducing SIM-Sonke - a 75c off-net and 29c on-net rate - Telkom Mobile executive for commercial product development Kagiso Moncho says: "We introduced SIM-Sonke as a community-based product that dramatically lowered the rate for people who make frequent calls primarily to others who live in close proximity. By offering the product on the Telkom Mobile network only, we could reduce costs and pass the savings on to customers."
Partly motivated by ICASA's decision to reduce interconnect fees - the fees operators pay to carry calls on each other's networks - Moncho says this latest move comes in time for the festive season, when many people are travelling around the country and will need to make use of more than just Telkom Mobile's partial network.
Telkom Mobile's SIM-Sonke product currently represents the cheapest available prepaid per-minute call rate and is billed per second.
Moncho says the company will add more "game changers" in the coming weeks.
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