Mobile termination benchmarking : the case of Namibia

The debate over the regulation of mobile termination rates in Europe concluded in 2009 with the recommendation by the European Commission for national regulators to reduce termination rates to the cost of termination of an efficient operator. The debate in Africa is ongoing. The case of Namibia is presented as an example of termination rate benchmarking as an alternative regulatory strategy in order to overcome regulatory and institutional bottlenecks. Operators have argued that a reduction in termination rates will force them to drop subsidies on handsets and calling prices. This paper makes several arguments against these claims