SMP Directives Compliance: MTN implements on-net and off-net parity measures
Market leader in Ghana’s telecom industry, MTN Ghana, in compliance with the directives issued by the National Communications Authority (NCA) following its declaration as a Significant Market Player (SMP), has implemented on its network the on-net and off-net parity measures to ensure on-net/off-net parity for Voice and SMS special plans, promotions and bundle offers.
The new measure, the telecom giant asserts, will ensure that customers enjoy the same rate for calls on MTN and calls to other local networks.
“We continue to engage the Regulator to explore ways of promoting competitiveness in the industry while ensuring value for all our Customers through continued innovations in our products and services.
“MTN Ghana remains committed to pursuing its Ambition 2025 strategy which is anchored on building the largest and most valuable platform business to support Ghana’s digitalisation agenda,” read parts of the press release by MTN announcing the new measure put in place.
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MTN Ghana in June last year was declared a Dominant/Significant Market Power (SMP) in the Voice, Data and SMS markets by the NCA.
The NCA’s declaration was in line with the mandate of the Authority under Section 4.3 of the National Telecommunications Policy, 2005, which states that in the absence of an NCA determination of different standard in a specific case, SMP will be determined to exist for an organisation providing telecommunications services that controls at least 40% of a relevant market segment.
According to the NCA, MTN being an SMP creates an imbalance that exposes the country to the dictates of the dominant operator, militates against effective competition and impacts negatively upon investment in the sector.
To remedy the company’s position as a Significant Market Player (SMP), the NCA imposed a number of directives on the telco.
Broadly, the directives imposed on MTN by the regulator include the following:
- The application of a 30% asymmetrical interconnect rate for two years;
- A price floor/ceiling on voice, data, SMS and Mobile Money;
- The review and approval of all MTN pricing by the NCA;
- The removal of on-net/ off-net price differentials; and
- The implementation of a national roaming scheme.
