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Namibia: Mobile operators agree on interconnection charges Print E-mail
Wednesday, 22 October 2008
Namibia’s Minister of ICT, Joel Kaapanda, says Namibian mobile operators have agreed to review their anticompetitive interconnection fees.

The Namibian Communication Commission (NCC) is responsible for establishing the new interconnection fees within two months. The operators, however, want the NCC to first do a benchmark study on the interconnection fees in nearby countries to ensure that the new fees are in line with regional norms. Kaapanda agrees that the new interconnection charges should be benchmarked against the countries in the Southern Africa Development Community.

Recently, Namibia's service providers have accused each other of anticompetitive interconnection practices. Telecom Namibia and Cell One accused Mobile Telecommunication Company (MTC) of charging its subscribers exorbitant interconnection tariffs when calling the Telecom Namibia and Cell One networks.

In September, Kaapanda called a meeting with operators to come up with an acceptable interconnection regime. Unfortunately, due to a lack of telecommunications laws, the government does not have the power to punish operators in violation of interconnection agreements. A revised communication law is expected to be debated in Parliament later in 2008.

Source: IDG News Service - WDR/Intelecon Regulatory News.