But Vodacom’s Group Head of Corporate Communications, Richard Boorman said that the general public needs to make a distinction between interconnect fees and tariffs, according to itnewsafrica.com

“It is important to understand that interconnect fees are not the same as tariffs. Interconnect fees, also known as termination rates, are something that telecommunications companies pay each other to connect a call on their network.

“Tariffs are the amount that consumer pays to make calls,” explained Boorman.

He said South Africa’s largest mobile operator, Vodacom had voluntarily reduced peak mobile termination rates by 28.8% in 1 March 2010.

“We have also introduced a whole range of more affordable tariffs and promotions, resulting in a 7.7% reduction in our average effective price per minute in 2010.

He also pointed out that the 10% reduction in peak mobile termination rates would result in an R200 million reduction in annual pre-tax profits.

“This means that we have to work even harder to reduce our costs in order to be able to offer better value to our customers,” said Boorman.

The continued competitive and regulatory pressures in South Africa are likely to limit revenue growth in the medium term.