BOCRA keeps close watch on mobile network operators
Isaac Pinielo | Tuesday June 20, 2017 16:29
This follows the recent dismissal of an urgent application in which Mascom Wireless sought to challenge the directive from BOCRA ordering operators including Mascom, Orange Botswana and Botswana Telecommunications Corporation Limited (BTCL) to reduce, amongst other charges, off-net and on-net charges over a period of two years.
According to BOCRA deputy director of corporate communications, Aaron Nyelesi, the first reduction effected on June 1, 2017 and the final reduction will take effect on June 1, 2018.
“There should be no difference in charges for calling Mascom to Mascom, or Orange to Orange, or across networks, like Mascom to Orange or Orange to BTCL Mobile,” he said.
Nyelesi said BOCRA is currently monitoring for compliance, adding that a full picture of the state of compliance will be determined after end of June this year as statements for postpaid customers and interconnection charges become available.
He stated that the Communications Regulatory Authority Act prescribes for a civil penalty not exceeding P50,000 for a service provider who charges customers tariffs exceeding what has been approved by the Authority.
Prior to effecting the directive, Nyelesi said operators charged one another 29.5 thebe per minute for receiving mobile calls.
“This is called mobile termination rate. The rate reduced to 22 thebe per minute on June 1, 2017 and will further reduce to 13 thebe per minute on June 1, 2018,” he explained.
However, he noted that BTCL was not affected by the directive on off-net/on-net pricing as it already has a single rate for both. He also said concerns continue to be raised regarding the pricing of wholesale and retail services, pricing of mobile broadband, uncompetitive behaviour and opportunity for abuse of market power.
Other concerns included prices of off net mobile calls being too high leading to multiple SIM ownership and distorted market, as well as lack of transparency on provision of wholesale services and opportunity for undue discrimination by wholesale providers.
“The above have been expressed by consumers and also revealed by the costing studies conducted before and other studies such as Market Study of the Telecom and ICT Sector in Botswana, Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) on Mobile Number Portability, RIA on National Roaming and as well as the draft Broadband Strategy of 2013.
Meanwhile, Mascom Wireless chief communications and public relations officer, Tebogo Lebotse-Sebego acknowledged the company submitted an urgent application to the High Court seeking for the suspension of the BOCRA regulatory directive.
“At this point, we cannot offer a reaction to the court ruling to dismiss the urgency of our application because the Judge is still to deliver reasons for this ruling,” she said.
She explained that Mascom challenges the principle and the process leading to the issuing of this directive, noting that BOCRA must “take regulatory decisions in an open, transparent, accountable, proportionate, and objective manner”. “We are of the opinion that, for Mascom, with this particular directive, BOCRA did not fully comply with this requirement by the Act,” Lebotse-Sebego said.