NCA to increase interconnect tariff by 50%

The National Communications Authority (NCA) has announced an increase in the tariff of interconnectivity calls among the various telecommunication companies operating in the country from GH4 pesewas per call to GH6 pesewas, representing an overall increase of 50 percent.

The new tariff is expected to take effect from June 2015.

Principal Manager, Regulatory Administration Division of NCA, Kwame Baah-Acheamfour made this known Wednesday in Accra at a public forum organized by NCA to solicit views from stakeholders and the general public on its upcoming Interconnect Clearing House License system.

The Clearing House is a centralized system which is aimed at providing a common and independent mechanism for the billing and settlement of interconnect accounting traffic for all existing and prospective telcos in Ghana.

The system is said to be in accordance with Section 7 of the Communications Service Tax (Amendment) Act, 2013 (Act 864).

Mr. Baah-Acheamfour stated that the Clearing House Licensing system would go a long way to address the interconnect disputes among telcos in the country.

“It is also supposed to look at subscriber registration services,” he said.

According to him, it would afford NCA the opportunity to create a centralized anti-fraud system aimed at protecting the privacy and confidentiality of subscribers.

The Deputy Director General, NCA, Albert E. Enninful, said the system would ensure healthy competition among various telecom companies.

“It is a way of ensuring efficiency in the system by providing a single point of contact,” he said.

There are currently six telecommunication companies in Ghana.

Mr. Enninful indicated that four more operators were expected to come on board.

Member of Parliament (MP) for Obuasi West and Deputy Ranking Member of Communications Select Committee of Parliament, Kwaku Kwarteng, in a remark, disclosed that Ghana has overcome the challenge in allowing telcos to interconnect with one another.

For him, the level of interconnectivity in the country was excellent.

He urged NCA to thoroughly consider the constitutional and legal issues surrounding the Clearing House Licensing system before commencing the process in 2015.

“If the interconnect clearing house is not going to be made optional, then the NCA should tell the legal basis on which it will be able to achieve that,” he said.