Page 97 - SAMENA Trends - January-February 2023

WHOLESALE UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

Orange Belgium, Telenet Sign Two Commercial Wholesale Fiber Deal

Orange Belgium and Telenet have signed two both current Hybrid Fiber Coaxial and future network and to its future Fiber to the
commercial fixed wholesale agreements, Fiber to the Home technologies in both Home network for 15 years, a key enabler
which entry into force is subject to the network areas. Orange Belgium believes to strengthen its nationwide convergent
completion of the transaction related to these agreements will foster investment, strategy. Combined with its state-of-the-art
the acquisition of 75% minus one share of benefit the customer and competition in mobile network and with the modernization
VOO by Orange Belgium. The agreements the Belgian telecom market. With these of the VOO network in the regions of
will provide access to each other’s fixed agreements, Orange Belgium firstly secures Wallonia and Brussels-Capital, Orange
networks for a 15-year period and cover an access to Telenet’s Hybrid Fiber Coaxial Belgium will democratize the multi-gigabit
fixed and mobile speed experience all over
the country. It is a major step forward in
the deployment of our leading nationwide
multi-gigabit strategy. With the acquisition
of VOO, we have an ambitious investment
plan to upgrade the network and to provide
multi-gigabit connectivity to our customers.
The agreement on the Telenet network, will
complement our ability to provide a Hybrid
Fiber Coaxial and Fiber to the Home multi-
gigabit connectivity value proposition to
our customers wherever they live. We also
welcome Telenet as a wholesale customer
on our future VOO network. These
agreements will foster competition and
network investments nationwide.

Brazil-Chile Roaming Pact Postponed Until July

The agreement to scrap cross-border month, and it was expected to take effect concluding a process that got underway
roaming fees between Brazil and Chile has on 25 January 2023, but Chile’s Ministry of with the signing of a Free Trade Agreement
been postponed until July, at the request Foreign Affairs (Ministerio de Relaciones between the two countries in Santiago on
of the Chilean authorities. Brazil’s National Exteriores, MRE) has proposed a six-month 21 November 2018. As per the terms of
Telecommunications Agency (Agencia delay. The Decree No. 10,949 was published the document, roaming charges were to
Nacional de Telecomunicacoes, Anatel) in Brazil’s Official Diary of the Union (Diario be cancelled within one year of the decree
signed off on the arrangement earlier this Oficial da Uniao, DOU) on 26 January 2022, being signed.

MACRA Reduces Termination Rates Over Next Three Years

set of maximum wholesale termination CRA says the new rates are now amongst
rates for voice and SMS services for the the lowest in the Southern African Develop-
next three years. Under the glidepath, the ment Community (SADC) region. In other
maximum termination rate for voice ser- news, The Times reports that MACRA has
vices has been set at USD0.0024 per min- given fixed line operators Malawi Telecom-
ute from 1 January 2023 and will fall to munications (MTL) and Access Communi-
USD0.0019 twelve months later and again cations (ACL) until May this year to pay their
to USD0.0015 on 1 January 2025. For SMS, outstanding licence fees. The pair allegedly
the rate was established at USD0.001 at face the revocation of their licenses if they
the start of this year and is scheduled to fail to pay a combined figure of MWK3.3 bil-
The Malawi Communications Regulatory fall to USD0.0005 on 1 January 2024 and lion (USD3.2 million) by that date.
Authority (MACRA) has announced a new USD0.0003 twelve months after that. MA-

97 JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2023