Mozambique: Price of telecom services to drop from Saturday – INCM

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Mozambique: Price of telecom services to drop from Saturday – INCM

1:56 CAT | 02 May 2024

FILE - For illustration purposes only. [File photo: Folha de Maputo]

Mozambique’s telecom regulator announced today that telecommunications services will, on average, become cheaper from Saturday, with the entry into force of tariffs in which operators have adjusted minimum values.

“The intervention of the sector regulator allowed the price of telephone communications in Mozambique to be significantly reduced,” chairman of the board of directors of the National Communications Institute of Mozambique (INCM), Tuaha Mote, told reporters in Maputo today (02-05).

According to Mote, the average price of voice service in Mozambique drops from six meticais per minute to five (€0.08 to €0.05) while the average price of data service drops from 2.30 meticais (€0.33) per megabyte to 1.08 meticais (€0.26). The average price of SMS messaging drops from 1.70 meticais (€0.24) per SMS, to 1.10 meticais (€0.17).

The INCM chairman justified the drop in prices as being necessary for the sector to guarantee access to services for everyone, especially those with low purchasing power.

“INCM’s mission, as regulator, is to guarantee the availability of infrastructure, quality services, a competitive environment and affordable prices for consumers, aiming to guarantee the stability and sustainability of the market,” Mote stressed.

The update of average prices comes after the INCM on February 19 published a resolution establishing new minimum tariffs in the telecommunications sector, namely for national calls inside and outside the network, data services and messaging services.

Mote cited the update of average prices is yet another action aiming to “place benchmarks” for operators in the sector, including state-owned company Tmcel and private companies Vodacom Moçambique and Movitel.

“The telecommunications market has goals and rules, and everyone has to play by them. We realized that there were players out of the game, but there are rules and everyone must follow these four lines,” Mote said, adding that it was in the INCM’s interest to see operators offering “good prices”, thereby retaining customers.

Source: Lusa