JOHANNESBURG, South Africa—Mobile network operators MTN, Vodacom and Cell C recently signed a new interconnect agreement with fixed-line operator Telkom. Perceived as creating a “win win” situation for all operators concerned, the new agreement will see mobile networks gaining 79 percent of the revenue for each call. This is reported to compare favorably with the 72 percent held by European operators, but is lower than the 83 percent retained by New Zealand mobile operators.
In terms of the previous agreement instituted in 1994, MTN and Vodacom held 85 percent of the revenue from each call. At the same time, Telkom announced it would increase the cost of mobile calls by 11.25 percent.
The new interconnect agreement is effective from 1 November and allows Telkom to adjust its tariffs to inflation year on year.
Mandla Langa, chairman of the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA), said the regulator is satisfied with the new agreement and hopes end users will benefit.
