NCA seeks support from telecom operators as parliament approves regulations on ICH
The Director General of the National Communications Authority (NCA), Mr William Tevie, asked all stakeholders in the telecom sector to endeavour to make the Interconnect Clearing Housing (ICH) a success because of what he described as the many benefits associated with the service.
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He mentioned the ease and transparency the ICH would bring to debt collection and accounts reconciliation at the end of every month for all stakeholders as one of the key benefits for its introduction.
Mr Tevie made the comments after Parliament of Ghana approved the regulations that covered the operations of an Interconnect Clearinghouse Services (ICH).
Interconnect rates
As a result, with effect from now until January 2018, interconnect rates will remain the same, in spite of the operations of the ICH, a move aimed at cushioning consumers from interconnection hikes.
The existing interconnect regime does not include the cost of the ICH, consequently the licensing and operations of an ICH should have resulted in an additional cost component to operators who may have passed this on to consumers. However, the NCA has decided to absorb the cost component until the expiration of the existing interconnect regime on December 31, 2017.
The ICH
A clearinghouse operator is an entity that provides a common, independent mechanism (Interconnect Clearinghouse) for the billing and settlement of interconnect accounting traffic for all existing and future operators in a particular country or region. Interconnection is the linking of the networks of two or more service providers, thus enabling the subscribers on one network to access the subscribers of the other networks.
The Interconnect Clearinghouse operator would therefore offer the following benefits, among others, to the industry: efficient billings payment/settlement process with verifiable call detail record, reliable, efficient and scalable network, reduce billing disputes among service providers, thereby minimising cases requiring mediation by the regulator, pave the way for full interoperability of various technologies and classes of service by various service providers, operate the common platform for monitoring traffic volumes in Ghana, operate a Centralised Subscriber Identity Registry and operate the Centralised Equipment Identity Registry.
NCA’s role
Subsequently, Mr Tevie said: “The Authority will continue to undertake its regulatory functions with integrity and transparency to ensure quality provision of ICT regulatory interventions for the benefit of Ghanaians. Through the ICH, we are able to increase focus on transparency at all levels of operations to ensure ethical functioning within the telecommunication industry.”
