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Africa: Gateway License Fees Set to Fall Print E-mail
Thursday, 25 January 2007
The cost of acquiring international gateway licenses by mobile operators in Africa is likely to fall due to the intervention of the United Nation Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

Peter Daka, of Zambia’s Ministry of Communication and Transport, said that the government has started consultations with mobile operators as part of its review of international gateway license fees. Zambian president Levy Mwanawasa has directed the government to find ways of ensuring that the international gateway is liberalised to reduce the cost of doing business in Zambia. UNCTAD has also instructed Kenya, Uganda, Cameroon, Gabon, and Niger to begin reviewing international gateway license fees, saying that the current fees prohibit the development of African information and communication technologies.

Many African countries have set high prices for international gateway licenses as a way of restricting service providers from acquiring the license, critics say. Reducing the costs of acquiring international gateways license is seen as a first step toward lowering the high cost of African telecommunications. Currently, the cost of acquiring an international gateway license stands at US$ 214,000 in Kenya and at US$ 50,000 in Uganda.

The move by to reduce international gateway license fees follows persistent calls by mobile providers to liberalize international gateways as a major step in reducing the cost of communication.

Source: Daily Trust - WDR/Intelecon Regulatory News