MTN, Telkom set to conclude price reductions

Commissioner at the Competition Commission Thembinkosi Bonakele says negotiations with MTN and Telkom are at an advanced stage and a conclusion can be expected soon.

Addressing the media in Pretoria, on Tuesday, Bonakele says the administrative delays in spectrum allocation – which can ensure further price reductions come at a high cost to the economy.

His comments follow an announcement on a settlement agreement with Vodacom which agreed to reduce data prices by over 30% across all channels from the 1st of next month.

“It is crucial that spectrum be released. We’ve said this in our report, and it’s not a new thing.  We were critical of the prices with or without spectrum being allocated.”

“But I think we were absolutely clear that spectrum must be released without delay, it is a cost to our economy, and it is a cost to the efficiency of the entire country,” Bonakele further explains.

On this video, Hloni Theko of Pre-tuned Technologies is discussing the high cost of data:

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