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ID President Patricia de Lille says she is ‘ready to take on the banks' after it was announced today that her campaign to bring down exorbitant telecommunication costs in South Africa has culminated in significant reductions in cell phone interconnection costs.

‘The conclusion of the ID's campaign for justice in terms of interconnection rates gives us all renewed confidence in the power of the ordinary consumer,' Ms De Lille says.

The ID Leader's campaign saw her meeting with the Competition Commission and Icasa, both of which were also given letters of complaint from her and the public. The Competition Commission is still investigating her complaint of possible collusion with regards to interconnection rates.

‘This is also a victory for Parliament, which the ID successfully used, with the help of hundreds of concerned citizens, to rally support for our year-long campaign, which I launched in July last year and should result in us saving billions in telecommunications costs,' says De Lille.

Mobile interconnection rates will drop to 65c a call by July 2010, after which they will decrease to 50c by July 2011 and to 40c a year later. They have already come down to 89 cents from R1.25 (at the end of last month). Fixed line termination rates will also be reduced over the same period.

‘The fact that interconnection rates will come down is proof that an ordinary consumer like me can take on the might of any companies, no matter how big, when they try to rip us off,' Ms De Lille says.

‘Consumers are reeling from a series of price increases, many of which have not been their own doing and are the result of either Government incompetence, as in the case of electricity price increases, or the greed of some big businesses, and this victory is proof that power lies with us.

‘All we have to do is use it,' says De Lille.

‘I would like to thank the countless patriotic South Africans that sent letters to us to forward to Icasa and the Competition Commission and that gave us their valuable input or support in any other way.

‘I would also like to thank Icasa for arriving at these reasonable rates, which will certainly bring some relief for the economy and ordinary South Africans,'

The ID Leader says her next campaign will involve bank charges, ‘also amongst the highest in the world.'