Antenas de telecomunicações
Maputo, 11 Mar (AIM) – The Mozambican National Communications Institute (INCM), the regulatory body for telecommunications, has denied reports that it intends to increase tariffs for the use of mobile phones.
According to INCM spokesperson, Massingue Apala, speaking to reporters on Sunday, in Maputo, the INCM is merely setting guidelines for mobile phone companies on the minimum tariffs to be charged, instead of ordering an increase.
An INCM release, circulated widely on social media, had been interpreted as ordering a significant increase in tariffs.
“In fact, the tariffs have not been revised upwards, but remain as they were”, said Apala. “The current tariff for voice calls, for example, is six meticais (nine US cents, at the current exchange rate) per minute”, he said.
According to Apala, the operators’ commercial packages will have to remain within the limits set by the regulator, since the INCM does not want the service to be provided below the minimum tariff.
He also explained that “the generalized idea that tariffs are going up may be linked to a lack of information about the costs of these services.”
“There is a perception that the price has gone up, because nowadays we don’t know, for example, how much a megabyte costs, how much a call lasting a minute costs – but these tariffs are all on the web pages of the operators and of the INCM, so the tariffs haven’t gone up”, Apala said.
“A voice call costs six meticais a minute, but the operators don’t practice this price because they are focused on their strategy of retaining and attracting customers by reducing tariffs.The tariffs now being charged are below the cost of the service”, he added.
Apala claimed that “the market is healthy, we are still not raising prices, they will remain the same, what will happen from now on is that operators will develop packages and these packages will be approved by the INCM.”
(AIM)
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