(3 minutes read)
· A new regulation will be in place soon to ensure that mobile users in Seychelles are charged for the actual duration of a call
· Currently, mobile users are charged calls per minute even if a call lasts a few seconds. A prepaid call is almost SCR4 (Seychelles
Rupee) on average per minute though there are variations depending on the package.
· The charges also vary between peak and non-peak hour.
A new regulation will be in place soon to ensure that mobile users in Seychelles are charged for the actual duration of a call. The law is being drafted in consultation with the stakeholders. The new tariff will be based on the actual time taken to complete a call. Currently,
mobile users are charged calls per minute even if a call lasts a few seconds. A prepaid call is almost SCR4 (Schelles Rupee) on average
per minute though there are variations depending on the package. The charges also vary between peak and non-peak hour.
The telecom authorities maintain that the present system is working without many complaints from the users. However, the country wants to have a regulation in place comparable with the one prevailing in other countries in tune with the best international practices. The department of telecommunication is working with the Attorney General’s office to draft the regulation which is expected to be ready by the
end of June or in July.
There are only two companies providing mobile services in Seychelles. These are Cable and Wireless Seychelles and Airtel Seychelles. The
company representatives maintain that they are waiting for an order from the government about the new tariff rates to study it carefully. The decision on per second billing will become operational only after the order gets gazetted. However, the landline tariffs will not change after the per -second tariff for mobile phones come into operation.
