[6 June 2025]

Just a heads-up: new maximum rates for call termination go into effect on July 1, 2025. This means the highest amount that can be charged for ending a call on a network will change.

Mobile termination rates (maximum)(Rands per minute ex VAT)

Type of operator	Current	1 July 2025	1 July 2026	1 July 2027
Large (Voda, MTN)	R0.09	R0.07	R0.05	R0.04
Small (everyone else)	R0.13	R0.09	R0.05	R0.04
New (up to 3 years after market entry)		R0.09	R0.07	R0.05

Fixed termination rates (maximum)(Rands per minute ex VAT)

Type of operator	Current	1 July 2025	1 July 2026	1 July 2027
Large (Telkom)	R0.06	R0.05	R0.04	R0.01
Small (everyone else)	R0.06	R0.05	R0.04	R0.01
New (up to 3 years after market entry)		R0.06	R0.05	R0.02

[9 December 2024]

ICASA has finalised further amendments to the Call Termination Regulations 2014, which will come into effect on 1 July 2025.

Call Termination Amendment Regulations 2024

[4 June 2024]

The public hearings regarding ICASA’s proposed changes to the call termination regulations will take place on 13 June 2024, both online (via Teams) and in-person at ICASA’s headquarters.

Agenda for Call Termination Public Hearings – 13 June 2024

Below are links to the responses submitted for the proposed amendments:

• Association for Communication Technologies
• Cell C
• DXL
• FNB Connect
• ISPA
• MTN
• rain
• SACF
• Telkom
• Vodacom
• Vox Telecommunications

[22 March 2024]

South Africa’s communications regulator, ICASA, is proposing significant cuts to call termination fees for local phone calls. They’re also looking to tackle high fees for calls coming into South Africa from abroad.

You can weigh in on these proposed changes by submitting your comments in writing by 4pm on May 10th, 2024. Send your emails to CTR2021@icasa.org.za.

Draft Call Termination Amendment Regulations 2024

Proposed rate reductions:

Termination to a mobile device (cents per minute ex VAT)
type of operator	current	from 1 July 2024	from 1 July 2025
large	9	7	4
small	13	9	4
new		7	7

Termination to a fixed device (cents per minute ex VAT)

type of operator	current	from 1 July 2024	from 1 July 2025
large	6	4	1
small	6	4	1
new		4	4

[9 January 2024]

Telkom dropped its court case against a government decision about phone call prices. They filed a notice to withdraw the case in December 2023 without explanation.

This means the government agency (ICASA) can now move forward with its plans to update the phone call price regulations. They will be finalizing the details throughout 2024.

There are still some minor legal issues about who pays for the court case, but overall the main case is over.

[19 September 2023]

After additional discussions between ICASA and telecoms companies, here are the comments received on the suggested cost-modeling methods.

• Cell C
• MTN
• Telkom
• Vodacom

[13 September 2023]

ICASA continues to move forward with its review of the Regulations. They recently released a briefing note on the cost modelling phase.

ICASA Methodology Briefing Note on the CTR Review 2021 Cost Modelling Phase August 2023

[2 June 2023]

Despite a lawsuit by Telkom to delay the review until a review of ICASA’s current findings document, ICASA announced they will move forward with their review of regulations for ending voice calls to South African phone numbers.

Call Termination Rate Review Notice 26 May 2023

Guide on bottom-up and top-down shell models for the determination of mobile and fixed-line wholesale voice call termination rates (2 June 2023)

The cost modeling process will be conducted in three steps:

• Step 1: Information Gathering (Request for Information & Meetings)
  • Following an initial workshop on May 31, 2023, ICASA will request information from all licensees regarding the structure and data used in their top-down and bottom-up cost models.
  • Licensees will have 21 business days to respond. ICASA may then schedule individual meetings for clarification.
  • Licensees will have a chance to ask clarifying questions, and ICASA will publish responses to all.
• Step 2: Draft Regulations
  • After completing the cost modeling exercise, ICASA will publish draft regulations for public comment.
  • The comment period will last 30 business days, followed by public hearings if deemed necessary.
• Step 3: Final Regulations
  • Once all comments are reviewed, ICASA will finalize and publish amendments to the Call Termination Regulations 2014.

[25 September 2022]

Telkom is unhappy with a decision by ICASA (South Africa’s communications regulator) and is asking the High Court to take another look.

Specifically, Telkom disagrees with ICASA’s plan to get rid of a system where smaller operators like Telkom charge bigger ones like Vodacom and MTN slightly higher rates to connect calls. Telkom argues this change will hurt competition and consumers in the long run.

Here’s the breakdown:

• Current system: Telkom charges Vodacom and MTN 9 cents per minute to connect calls, while Vodacom and MTN charge Telkom only 13 cents per minute (excluding tax). This difference is meant to help smaller operators compete.
• ICASA’s plan: Get rid of this difference and make everyone charge the same rate.
• Telkom’s argument: This will make it harder for Telkom to compete and ultimately lead to less choice and higher prices for consumers.

[2 September 2022]

ICASA has issued a tender looking for a company to help them figure out fair prices for mobile and landline calls. To do this, they’ll use two methods: analyzing existing costs (top-down) and estimating new costs from scratch (bottom-up). This is the first step before they take a closer look at the whole call termination market in South Africa.

[28 March 2022]

ICASA wrapped up the initial stage of its investigation into how to promote competition within the market for completing phone calls on other companies’ networks (wholesale call termination) by publishing a document outlining its conclusions.

Findings Document on the Review of the 2014 Pro-competitive Remedies imposed on Licensees

Summary of findings

The investigation into wholesale voice call termination services in South Africa revealed several key points:

• Lack of Competition: Current market forces, both for businesses and consumers (retail and wholesale), are unlikely to prevent service providers from setting unfairly high termination rates.
• Market Definition: The investigation identified two distinct markets: mobile termination and fixed termination (including international calls).
• Market Power: Each company offering termination services controls 100% of calls ending on their network, giving them significant power over pricing.
• Market Failures: Without regulation, the issues identified in 2014 would likely re-emerge.
• Proposed Solutions: To address these problems, the Authority will require cost-based pricing models (with some adjustments) and establish standard interconnection offers.
• Next Steps: A separate notice will be published outlining the upcoming process for determining cost models.

[21 January 2022]

ICASA is holding public hearings to discuss competition in the phone call market. This follows feedback they received on their initial ideas. Anyone can attend the hearings, which will be held online via Microsoft Teams on February 7th, 2022, starting at 8:15 am and running until 5 pm.

Public hearings: Discussion Document – Review of the Pro-competitive Conditions imposed on Licensees in terms of the Call Termination Regulations, 2014

Submissions received can be seen below:

• Cell C
• ISPA
• MTN
• Mr Ewan Sutherland
• Switchtel
• Telkom
• Vodacom

[7 November 2021]

Discussion document on the review of the pro-competitive conditions imposed on licensees

South Africa’s communications regulator, ICASA, is moving forward with its review of competition in the wholesale call termination market. They’ve released a public discussion document for your feedback.

• Share your thoughts by: Tuesday, January 11th, 2022 at 4:00 pm SAST.
• Email your comments to: CTR2021@icasa.org.za

This is the second stage of the review process. Here’s what happens next:

1. ICASA will review all written submissions.
2. Public hearings may be held (if needed).
3. ICASA will publish a findings document summarizing the review.
4. The findings document may include proposed changes to the current regulations (if necessary).

[29 June 2021]

The regulator has clarified the questionnaire and review process for the call termination regulatory regime. You can find their explanations online. Our records indicate the deadline to submit your completed questionnaire is August 31st, 2021. However, it’s advisable to double-check the official deadline for any updates.

Response to stakeholders questions of clarity on the review of the 2014 call termination regulations

[7 June 2021]

The South African communications regulator, ICASA, will be reviewing the regulations concerning how voice calls are completed on local phone networks.

Notice on the review of Call Termination Regulations

Annexure B questionnaire for the review of Call Termination Regulations

ICASA conducts a workshop to review the 2014 Call Termination Regulations (media release)

The first review in 2010 led to a decrease in call termination rates. This new review aims to see if the current system is working and if any adjustments are needed.

The Review Process:

The review will happen in four stages:

1. Information Gathering: This involves completing a questionnaire (linked below). A workshop is scheduled for June 11th, 2021, to discuss the review and answer questions about the questionnaire. Questions after the workshop should be submitted by June 18th and will be answered within five business days. You’ll have 45 working days to complete the questionnaire.
2. Discussion Document: ICASA will analyze the responses and research to create a discussion document. This document will be open for public comment for another 45 working days.
3. Public Hearings: These may be held if necessary.
4. Findings Document: ICASA will publish a final document outlining their findings.

[14 September 2020]

For informational purposes, a reduction in wholesale voice call termination rates, mandated by ICASA, took effect on 1 October 2020.

Fixed call termination rates:

[7 October 2019]

For informational purposes, a reduction in wholesale voice call termination rates, mandated by ICASA, took effect on 1 October 2019.

Fixed call termination rates: