Speaking in Blantyre during a workshop on the development of cost models and pricing frameworks for telecommunication services in Malawi, Director of Finance at MACRA, Ben Chitsonga said modelling of the price will enable consumers to pay less on communication.

“We have partnered with Insight, a company from UK, to do a study on cost of doing business for ICT operators in Malawi. We want to find the cost of providing services and internet so we will determine the true cost of running the telecommunication business,” said Chitsonga.

Chitsonga said the enactment of the new Communications Act mandates the regulatory body to regulate and check the pricing of telecommunication services.

“The study was not done before because we were not mandated. We were supposed to be notified on the rates that the communicators were supposed to pay. The new Communication Act requires us to approve tariffs for all telecommunications operators,” added Chitsonga.

He said telecommunications users will be charged the true cost of the actual costs that these service providers incur while providing for such services.