Page 89 - SAMENA Trends - Oct-Nov 2023

WHOLESALE UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

Togo and Ghana Sign Mutual Roaming Agreement

Togo and Ghana have signed a bilateral
memorandum of understanding (MoU) on
mutual free international mobile network
roaming between the two countries under
the Economic Community of West African
States (ECOWAS) Roaming Regulations.
Togo’s Regulatory Authority for Electronic
Communications and Posts (ARCEP)
and Ghana’s National Communications
Authority (NCA) inked the MoU on 1
November 2023 and scheduled its
implementation for 1 March 2024. The
initiative complies with Regulation No. C/
REG.21/12/17 (2017) for roaming on public
mobile networks within ECOWAS states.
The abolition of roaming charges will result
in a very significant reduction in prices, the
Togolese regulator said in a press release.
The cost of outgoing calls will fall to
XOF8.67 (USD0.14) per minute, compared
with the XOF279 currently charged by
Togocom and XOF550 by Moov Africa
Togo, while incoming calls and texts will be
free during the first 30 consecutive days.
Additionally, the MoU caps mobile internet
roaming service rates, which will be set at
a maximum of XOF1.6 per MB, compared
with existing rates of up to XOF8,400.

Operators Call for Cap to Revenue Charge for 5G Lift

Indonesia operators partnered with the deployment. The task force is aiming to surrounding the Non-Tax State Revenue
Ministry of Communication and Informatics create a strategy to ‘balance technical, (PNBP) derived from the 5G frequencies
(MCI) to set up a task force to deliver new technological and financial issues’. that will be allocated to MNOs. In the
ideas and incentives to accelerate 5G Specifically targeting financial red tape current framework, operators include
spectrum PNBP payments as ‘regulatory
charges’ which equates to around 11% to
12% of annual revenue (14%-15% if there
are additional managed frequencies).
MNOs argued that to maintain profit this
charge needs to be capped at 10% or below,
which is being requested in the MCI’s ‘Draft
Ministerial Regulation (RPM) concerning
the Use of Radio Spectrum in the 700MHz
and 26GHz Frequency Bands’. The ministry
is reportedly freeing up 90MHz of ‘digital
dividend’ spectrum in the 700MHz band
that was previously used by analogue
broadcasting. Meanwhile, the 26GHz
frequency band is currently not in use and
can be tapped into for mobile broadband.

89 OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2023