Neotel calls for further rate cuts

Johannesburg - A drop in interconnection tariffs is long overdue, telecoms group Neotel said on Friday.

"This drop will go a long way in alleviating pressure for the consumer and is a step in the right direction," spokesperson Wandile Zote said in a statement.

Mobile operators Vodacom, MTN and Cell C said recently interconnection tariffs would be lowered in 2010.

"We fully support the Independent Communications Authority of SA's (Icasa's) regulatory process under section 10 of the Electronic Communications Act and trust that this will mean a further drop in interconnection rates."

Icasa has been given a deadline of June 2010 to complete the regulatory process.

"The critical thing is that the industry should support Icasa in this process as it is in the best interest of consumers after all."

Neotel still believed the industry had a long way to go.

"There is a lot of work still to be done around geographic number portability, local loop unbundling, carrier pre-select and spectrum allocation, to name but a few."

- Sapa