Mistrust rises as SADC�s roaming pilot begins
Mbongeni Mguni | Thursday August 27, 2015 16:21
Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe will launch the pilot next week, with operators having tentatively agreed to slash roaming fees by 30 percent. The four countries will also reduce wholesale and retail tariffs annually, in line with a SADC-approved ‘glide path’.
The project is the brainchild of a SADC ministers’ directive issued earlier this year in Namibia.
However, ahead of the pilot launch, operators in the four countries are wary of their peers reneging on the deal.
At the ICT Pitso on Tuesday, the Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority (BOCRA) CEO, Thari Pheko was blunt about the country’s position with regards to the roaming pilot.
“It was a directive, but I must caution that I have the interests of this country at heart. If country A or B does not come on board, I will not reduce ours. Do you want to subsidise the economies of the region?
“Would you be happy that when people come to our country we charge them nothing and when you go to their countries, you are charged double? We have decided all four countries will go into bilateral agreements within the pilot,” he said.
Pheko said regulators and operators of the four countries had shared each other’s tariffs, with a view to harmonising down to the 30 percent directed by SADC.
“There was an agreement on a one-on-one basis. However, there’s no point for me to reduce when others are not doing so. Should I take my taxpayers money to pay others?” he said. He added: “Go and try roam in Angola. For one minute, you’ll be charged P30!”
Separately, Communications Regulators Association of Southern Africa (CRASA) executive secretary, Tony Chigaazira, told Mmegi that a study by the regional association had found out that operators were making profits of between 500 and 800 percent from inflated roaming charges. CRASA groups 13 ICT and postal regulators from SADC, including the four countries due to start the pilot next week.
“Our study shows that roaming is an unregulated area and the operators charge what they want. In most countries, the free market regulates retail tariffs. The roaming traffic is low and operators make up for that by charging high margins,” he said.
CRASA and the SADC ministers believe inter-regional trade, regional development and integration can all be assisted by lower roaming tariffs.
“In the East Africa Community, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda started the pilot, but now the whole region is on board and they have introduced low roaming charges. Traffic has gone up by 900 percent as a result. The SADC ministers are getting impatient about the slow movement,” Chigaazira said.
He said other SADC member states were expected to come on board beginning of October.