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Archive -Seychelles

Partners seek ways to bring down cost of telecom services |10 October 2017

 

A series of meetings have been held with various partners to initiate discussions on measures to reduce the cost of telecommunication services offered to subscribers in Seychelles.

This forms part of government’s effort to reduce the cost of living.

The meetings were held separately between representatives from the Ministry of Finance, Trade and Economic Planning, the department of information communication and technology (DICT), the Seychelles Revenue Commission (SRC), and Cable and Wireless Seychelles, Airtel, and Kokonet.

A high quality of telecommunication service was mentioned as a precondition to sustainable development. An efficient service is also part of the ‘Ease of Doing Business’ and one indicator which foreign investors pay close attention to.

During these meetings, a number of issues were discussed including: (i) reduction in the different packages and services offered by the telecommunication companies, (ii) issue of network cables, and (iii) network coverage in locations, whereby connectivity is poor.

One of the points that came out strongly is the need to level the playing field, when it comes to exemptions and concessions for telecommunication companies. The executives of the telecommunication companies urged the government to adopt a fairer approach.

Another issue was the proposal to review the current existing agreement that the government has entered with the telecommunication companies.

The Minister for Finance, Trade and Economic Planning, Dr Peter Larose, suggested that the telecom companies should come up with proposals for possible trade-offs for the government to consider.

“We need to make a serious effort to facilitate the existing companies in this important sector to reduce the price of their services,” Minister Larose said.

“These meetings have opened up opportunities for us to discuss and come up with ideas and solutions for all concerned,” he added.

The meetings were chaired by Minister Larose, who was accompanied by the principal secretary for finance Patrick Payet; the principal secretary for information communication and technology Benjamin Choppy;  chief executive (CEO) of Cable and Wireless Seychelles Charles Hammond;  CEO of Airtel company Amadou Dina; deputy Revenue Commissioner Fred Morel and other senior officers from the ministry, departments and telecommunication companies.

Discussions with the different telecom companies are part of Minister Larose’s budget speech for this year. Minister Larose insisted that there is an urgent need for the country to have a more cost-effective and efficient telecommunication system.

He reiterated that this factor is important for sustainable development.

 

 

 

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