High retail internet Tariffs puzzle PPPC
The Public Private Partnership Commission (PPPC) has said it is puzzled with the high retail tariffs for Internet despite the entry on the market of a price-competitive Internet service provider SimbaNet.
But Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (Macra) yesterday said their sole responsibility is to regulate the market and not pricing.
Internet tariffs are still high despite the completion and implementation of the $20 million (about K15 billion) World Bank-funded Regional Communications Infrastructure Programme-Malawi Project (RCIPMW).
The project was being implemented in 25 African countries to improve quality, availability and affordability of broadband, especially wholesale Internet, and in Malawi, the optic fibre network was constructed by a Tanzanian firm SimbaNet.
PPPC is a government agency that facilitated the implementation of the project and invited tenders which was won by SimbaNet.
But in an e-mailed response to a questionnaire on Friday, PPPC chief executive officer Jimmy Lipunga expressed his frustration, saying although the commission appreciates the high cost of doing business, especially in relation to the delivery of service to rural areas, the high retail Internet prices remains a puzzle.
He said: “There is no doubt that this matter is of a regulatory nature, and therefore, falls within the jurisdiction of Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority.
“Macra will need to deal with the pricing issue. One must not be too quick to blame the operators. There could be structural issues that need to be looked at.”
Lipunga said PPPC had engaged some of the operators to appreciate the relatively high price of Internet services, but “the feedback we are getting is that the matter is a little more complex than one would suppose”.
Macra director general Godfrey Itaye yesterday said their sole responsibility is to regulate the market and not pricing.
“If the prices being offered are on the higher side, then you need to engage the operators and find out why they are offering such prices and we will respond to each and every concern,” he said, adding that they will engage a consultant on the cost of doing business on the same and the process is now at procurement stage.
Minister of Information and Communications Technology Malison Ndau said government is discussing with Huawei, a Chinese firm, for a possibility of another fibre backbone.
“We are the only country with exorbitant Internet prices. In a way, it is punishment to our own people,” he said.
A statement issued by PPPC last week showed that wholesale Internet prices charged by SimbaNet are at around $175 (about K128 000) per magabyte per second (Mbps) per month.
PPPC argued that retail prices at between $300 (K219 000) and $500 (K365 000) Mbps/month still remain high.
Malawi has been ranked 168 out of 175 economies by International Telecommunications Union (ITU), signalling high cost of Internet tariffs. n
