In a welcome move for mobile phone users, Mauritius regulator ICTA said it was working on a project to reduce mobile call rates this year.
The regulatory authority for Information and Communications Technology (ICT) wants to align call prices between on-net calls, calls to other operators or to fixed telephones.
It was ICT minister Tassarajen Pillay Chedumbrum who started the initiative, calling for a market study after finding out that Mahanagar Telephone Mauritius (MTML) charged MUR 1.15 per minute for calls to other operators.
The study found that an Orange call to Emtel costs MUR 3.60 per minute and that an Orange call to MTML and Mauritius Telecom costs MUR 3.48 per minute.
The minister found the rates too high and is accordingly pressing the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (ICTA) for a reduction in rates.
Earlier, in a communique dated December 31, the ICTA had informed the public that it has approved a 16% reduction in the prices of tariffs on the International Private Leased Circuits (IPLC), half-circuit of Mauritius Telecom (MT).
The reduction has been in effect from January 1 and is in line with Budgetary Announcement 2013 which had earmarked such a reduction, especially targeted at corporate users.
An IPLC (International Private Leased Circuit) is a dedicated point-to-point private connectivity used either by an organization to communicate between offices that are geographically dispersed throughout the world, or by any other licensed operator, to offer international ICT services.
An IPLC can be variously used for Internet access, business data exchange, video conferencing, and any other form of telecommunication.
The ICTA is the national regulator for the ICT sector and postal services in Mauritius, with the vision to contribute to an efficient, competitive and optimally regulated ICT sector.
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