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Patricia de Lille, leader of the Independent Democrats, welcomes the
meeting that took place on the 8 September 2009 between Icasa and
network operators where some progress on the reduction of the
interconnection rates of cellular calls finally took place. "ID has
run a sustained campaign on this issue for the last few months and we
feel vindicated that our pressure has finally resulted in an agreement
to reduce the high interconnection rates that South African consumers
are forced to pay", stated De Lille. "This is only the first step in
our campaign to ensure that cellular operators are prevented from
fleecing the South African consumer through anti-competitive
behaviour. While we welcome the agreement that has been reached
between ICASA and the cellular operators on the issue of
interconnection rates, the ID still maintains that a more stringent
regulatory environment needs to be enacted to bring down the high cost
of cellular communication in South Africa.
"I also believe that the cellular operators should act on this
agreement before the end of the year so as to give South Africans a
Christmas present and bring relief to those who are suffering as a
result of the present economic crisis. I will also not let this issue
rest until I am convinced that we have a fair and competitive cellular
communication market in South Africa and that the consumer is paying a
fair price for these services."