South Africa telecom regulator holds public rates hearing

South Africa’s telecoms regulator, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA), will today host hybrid public hearings today.

The motive behind the hearings is to cut down South Africa’s voice call termination rates, which are to take effect next month. Following the adoption, wholesale voice call termination figures of small and large network providers will reduce considerably. Although ICASA announced the draft in late March, the process to review call termination rates dates back to 2021 and required the close cooperation of large-scale telecom companies.

The new regulation is expected to significantly  improve the telecom billing system, which in turn will have a direct positive impact on the South African economy in the short-to-medium term. This is mainly because telecommunications is an important sector of the market, accounting for 7% of South Africa’s GDP. However, it remains unclear if the new regulation will disrupt free-market competition within the country, as the mobile operating companies such as Vodacom, MTN and Telkom will now be faced with unprecedented quotas. While this might result in a brief disapproval, it is highly unlikely the new regulation will face the major pushback needed to force a repeal.