Government's announcement that mobile operators are allowed to internationally self-provision effectively breaks Telkom's stranglehold on international connectivity, says MTN head of regulatory affairs Nkateko Nyoka.
"The Electronic Communications (EC) Act has a provision that says the regulator can no longer promote monopolistic practices and has to encourage competition," he says.
Nyoka was reacting to yesterday's government announcement that the three network operators, Cell C, Vodacom and MTN, are now able to develop their own international links and effectively bypass those services offered by Telkom, Sentech and Neotel.
Before this announcement was made, MTN had been preparing a letter to send to the Independent Communications Authority of SA, stating that it would begin its own international self-provisioning, he says.
"Telkom's monopoly over the international gateways was given under the Telecommunications Act, which has been replaced by the EC Act," Nyoka says.
No longer grey
Mike Falconer, Cell C's senior manager of carrier relations, says the announcement tidies up what had been a grey area.
"Now we can go to the incumbent and say these are our options and what can they do for us to bring down international costs," he says.
Falconer says Cell C investigated doing its own international self-provisioning and, with yesterday's announcement, will continue to do so.
Although mobile network operators are now authorised to self-provision for their international links, consumers should not expect a drastic cut in overseas call prices, says BMI-TechKnowledge analyst Richard Hurst.
"This will only relate to their own backhaul use (ie, the network needed to connect the various calls within the operator's system) and will not necessarily mean they will be able to resell to other telecommunications operators," Hurst says.
Dene Smuts, communications spokesperson for the official opposition, the Democratic Alliance, says the announcement is a follow up from a hint in communications minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri's budget speech in May.
Vodacom had not provided comment by the time of publication.
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