THE INTERNET Service Providers’ Association of South Africa (Ispa) said yesterday it welcomed moves by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) to conduct a cost modelling exercise on voice call termination rates and to introduce curbs on charges from local voice providers for terminating calls from outside the country.
The result is likely to be cheaper overseas calls and much-reduced phone fraud, says the association representing over 200 internet service providers (ISPs) members, many of which provide voice services.
Call termination rates are the fees telecoms networks across the world levy on each other to ensure calls originally placed on another network can reach - or terminate - on their network.
For example:
- Subscriber A – a Vodacom customer – calls Subscriber B – an MTN customer.
- The call originates on Vodacom’s network before being transferred to MTN’s network and then being carried on the MTN network to reach Subscriber B.
- MTN invoices Vodacom for the use of MTN’s network to complete the call: this is the call termination charge.
- Vodacom then invoices Subscriber A to recover its fees as well as the call termination charge which it has to pay to MTN.
“Under Icasa regulation call termination charges for local calls have been substantially reduced since 2014, but there is still work to be done,” Ispa said.
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