Page 73 - SAMENA Trends - December 2023

WHOLESALE UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

NBN Co Outlines Details of New Wholesale Broadband Agreement for Retail

Providers

Australia’s NBN Co has announced that it will implement a new of CVC (capacity) charges for the ‘Home Fast’ wholesale service
Wholesale Broadband Agreement (‘WBA5’) for the nation’s retail at downlink speeds of 100Mbps or higher. With regards to price
service providers (RSPs) on 1 December 2023. In a press release reductions, NBN Co singled out an AUD10 (USD6) discount which
regarding the matter, NBN Co said that the revised three-year will be applied to the entry-level 12Mbps/1Mbps ‘Basic Bundle’,
agreement reflects the wholesale price terms of the Special Access making that available for a wholesale price of AUD12 per month. A
Undertaking (SAU) Variation which was accepted by the Australian 25Mbps/5Mbps tariff will receive an AUD11 discount, meanwhile,
Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) last month. reducing its monthly wholesale charge to AUD26. Counter to that,
According to the operator, the new agreement will see ‘significant’ NBN Co’s 50Mbps/20 Mbps product will actually see an AUD5
reductions in the wholesale prices of entry level and higher speed wholesale price increase, to AUD50 per month, but the operator
tiers, while supporting fast internet speeds and improved cost claims to have ‘incorporated greater value into the plan’ with a
certainty for retailers and customers. Among the improvements 34% increase in the data allowance. To date, a total of 38 RSPs,
highlighted by NBN Co for the new wholesale agreement is the including ‘Australia’s largest internet retailers’, are said to have
implementation of flat-rate prices with the immediate removal signed up to WBA5.

Mali Signs Two Roaming Agreements, with Benin and Togo

Mali has entered into two mobile roaming agreements with fellow memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with its Beninese and
West African countries Benin and Togo, with implementation Togolese regulatory counterparts on 9 December with the aim of
expected before the end of February 2024, Agence Ecofin reports. eliminating roaming charges to reduce communication costs for
The Malian Authority for the Regulation of Telecommunications/ mobile phone users travelling between the respective countries.
ICT and Post (L’Autorite Malienne de Regulation des Under the terms of the agreement, roaming users will be able to
Telecommunications/TIC et des Postes, AMRTP) signed bilateral receive calls free of charge during the first 30 days of their visit.
In addition, local calls will cost a maximum of XOF79 (USD0.13)
per minute; calls to the roamers’ home country will be capped at
XOF150 per minute; and mobile internet will be billed at a maximum
XOF2.2 per MB. The Mali/Benin/Togo regulators’ joint statement
said: ‘Regulatory authorities will continue, with the support of their
respective governments, efforts to eliminate roaming charges
between ECOWAS [Economic Community of West African States]
countries through the multiplication of similar agreements to
achieve the objective of mobility and community digital integration.’
Previously, Benin and Togo signed a bilateral roaming agreement
in October this year, before Togo reached a roaming pact with Cote
d’Ivoire on 6 December. Earlier, at the end of June Cote d’Ivoire and
Ghana launched mutual roaming without surcharges via ECOWAS
regulations, while Ghana and Togo are in the process of finalizing a
similar arrangement under the ECOWAS framework. Furthermore,
according to the latest report, a roaming agreement should also
become effective between Cote d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso from 15
December 2023.

Another Roaming Deal Signed in West Africa

The telecoms regulators of Cote d’Ivoire and Togo have signed a Regulation 21/12/17 of December 2017, ECOWAS has called on
mobile roaming deal which will cut costs for travelers between the member states to implement free cross-border roaming. The first
two countries. The agreement is the latest among members of the such agreement was signed in July this year between Cote d’Ivoire
Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), an and Ghana.
organization which includes 15 West African nations. Under its

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