Africa-Press – Mozambique. The chairman of INCM, the Mozambican communications regulator, said on Tuesday that he has instructed telecom operators to withdraw unlimited data and voice packages to avoid the “collapse of the market” and “unfair competition”.
“The prices [of telephone communications] are no longer the same. We banned the implementation of unlimited packages, which were damaging the economy. The 30-day packages continue, but consumers can’t talk unlimitedly to the point where it costs them zero,” said the chairman of the board of the National Communications Institute of Mozambique (INCM), Tuaha Mote, in an interview with private television STV.
Consumers have complained about the withdrawal of unlimited data packages and voice services, as part of the new average communications tariffs, defined by the three mobile telecoms operators, after intervention by the INCM.
Tahua Mote said that the regulator had eliminated the unlimited data and voice service packages as a measure to avoid “unfair competition” between the operators and to allow the market to open up more to attract investment in the sector.
“As regulators we assume that we limit the prices of [previously] unlimited packages by dictating the entry of new packages. If we had let the market continue like this it would have collapsed. That’s why the regulator took the decision to set minimum prices,” said Mote, adding that if the communications market collapsed, the country risked only “having one operator”.
He said that “with the collapse of the communications market, whoever is responsible for regulating had to make a decision.”
Mote also noted that the regulator’s action was aimed at protecting the consumer, ensuring that they have affordable prices, but “that doesn’t mean cheap and below cost”.
“As a consumer, I would like to continue buying communications below cost (…). But as a regulator, we thought it necessary to operate on a finger to avoid amputating the arm,” added the president of the regulatory authority.
He also said that the operators were aware that “the market was not good”, which is why he believed that setting prices was “a decision that had to be taken at this time”.
The communications regulator announced on Thursday that telecoms services would become cheaper on average from Saturday, 4 May, with the entry into force of tariffs in which operators adjust the minimum values.
“The intervention of the sector regulator has made it possible to significantly lower the price of telephone communications in Mozambique,” said Tuaha Mote, chairman of the board of the National Communications Institute of Mozambique (INCM), at a press conference to announce the new tariffs.
According to Mote, the average price of the voice service in Mozambique would drop from six meticais (eight euro cents) per minute to five meticais (five cents), while the average price of the data service would drop from 2.30 meticais (33 cents) per megabyte to 1.08 meticais (26 cents). On the other hand, the average price of SMS messaging services has fallen from 1.70 meticais (24 cents) per SMS to 1.10 meticais (one euro cent).
At the time, the president of the INCM justified the average price drop as necessary for the sector to guarantee access to services for everyone, especially the population with low purchasing power.
“The INCM’s mission, as the regulator, is to guarantee the availability of infrastructures, quality services, a competitive environment and affordable prices for consumers, with the aim of ensuring the stability and sustainability of the market,” said Tuaha Mote.
The update of average prices comes after the INCM published a resolution on 19 February establishing new minimum tariffs in the telecommunications sector, namely for national calls inside and outside the network, data services, and messaging services
For More News And Analysis About Mozambique Follow Africa-Press
