The idea is simple: favourable offers are made to customers based on their airtime and data spending habits, locations and network capacity. The consumer gets lower prices, while the operator is able to retain that customer on their network for a little longer, and they get to dictate the terms of the exchange. Last week, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) gazettednew regulationsthat will require telecom companies to, at the “end of the validity period of a bundle, roll over any unused bundle or portions thereof at least once, and subject the bundle rolled over to the same terms and conditions applicable to the original bundle”.
Seen as a major breakthrough for consumers, the move is also viewed as a blow to industry majors, which last year put up a fierce defence of the sector’s practice of having packages expire. This is especially true if mobile operators are able to come up with special offers that are attractive enough to forgo the utility of rollover. These regulations do not seek to fix prices, impose tariff ceilings or control competition directly.
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