INFORMATION & COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES AUTHORITY

1 st Floor, Jade House, Remy Ollier & Car Jummah Mosque Streets,

Port Louis,  MAURITIUS

No. ICTA/DP/TO/01/2003                                                                                7 th April, 2003

THE TELECOMMUNICATION ORDER (1 of 2003)

In exercise of the powers conferred upon it under the Information & Communication Technologies Act 2001, the Information & Communication Technologies Authority (hereinafter referred to as Authority ) hereby makes the following order in respect of tariffs for calls between post paid subscribers of different mobile networks operating in Mauritius:

1. Short title, extent and commencement:

i. This Order shall be called "The Telecommunication Order (1 of 2003)".

ii. The Order shall come into force with immediate effect.

2.     Tariffs for Mobile Telecommunication Services

i. The inter network calls by post paid subscribers of any mobile operator to the other mobile operator shall be subject to maximum tariffs as specified in Schedule-I hereto.

ii. The above tariffs are to be implemented with effect from 1 st May 2003.

iii. It shall be open to the mobile operators to charge tariffs lower than those prescribed above.

iv. The mobile operators shall file the proposed tariff based on this order with the Authority by 24 th April 2003.

3.     Short Messaging Service

            The short messaging service (SMS) between the subscribers of the two operators shall be made available with effect from 1 st May 2003.

4.     Explanatory Memorandum

This Order contains at Annexure-A, an explanatory memorandum to provide clarity regarding the tariffs specified in this Order.

BY ORDER

M.A.Bocus,

Director of Legal Affairs & Board Secretary,

Information & Communication Technologies Authority

To:

i.    M/s Cellplus Mobile communications Limited, 9th Floor, Telecom Tower, Port Louis .

ii.  M/s Emtel Limited, 1, Boundary Road, Rose Hill.

iii. M/s Mauritius Telecom Limited, 18 th Floor, Telecom Tower, Port Louis

Schedule-I

Annexure-A

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

1. The Authority has allowed direct interconnection of the mobile networks of existing operators namely M/s Emtel Limited & M/s Cellplus Mobile Communications Limited, by way of amendment to the existing licences issued to these operators. 

2. For calls between the two operators routed through M/s Mauritius Telecom Limited the mobile operators pay a combined transit charge of Rs.2.9646 per minute to M/s Mauritius Telecom Limited as below:

                        Call Originating Operator                      Rs.1.7496 per minute

                        Call Terminating Operator                     Rs.1.2150 per minute

      These charges ultimately form part of the charges levied on the customers          for making / receiving the calls.

3. With direct interconnection between the networks of the mobile operators the above charges would not be payable.

4. The Authority sought the proposal for tariff and cost of calls from the mobile operators under direct peering arrangement.

5. The Authority has also analysed the cost of direct link between the operators and decided that, having regard to the traffic pattern between the operators, both shall equally bear the cost of the direct link.

6. Apart from savings in out-payments, the revenue of operators would increase on account of larger volume of calls due to price elasticity. Short Messaging Service (SMS) between subscribers of the two mobile networks will bring in additional revenue to the mobile operators.

7. Based on discussions on and calculation of cost of carriage of calls, the Authority has decided to prescribe the maximum tariffs in respect of inter-network calls from one mobile operator to another mobile operator under the post-paid subscriber category alone.

8. The charges for all other services and airtime charges for other categories of calls shall be subject to the maximum level of tariffs as currently applicable.

9. There shall not be any interconnection charge payable by one operator to the other for termination of calls in the other's network. The amount receivable from their own customers receiving the calls shall be the net accrual to the operators.

10. As requested by the operators during discussion with the Authority the prescribed tariff shall come into operation on 1 st May 2003, to coincide with the billing cycle and also to provide sufficient time for putting up direct interconnection.

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