Following a study on the relevant mobile network markets, conducted from December 2018 to February 2019 in collaboration with the companies Sotelma SA, Orange Mali SA and Atel SA, the Malian telecommunications regulatory authority / Tic et des poste (AMRTP) has lowered its voice and SMS rates.
The rate per minute of call has thus increased from 108 FCFA (0.18 USD) to 81 FCFA (0.14 USD) while the SMS which cost 30 FCFA (0.05 USD) is now billed at 10 FCFA ( $ 0.02).
During its 2nd forum “AMRTP – Consumers Association”, on December 12, 2019, the telecoms regulator declared that the study was necessary to bring more readability, transparency and fairness for the consumer on the national telecoms market. The supervisory body indicated that the study report had indeed demonstrated, among other things, an absence of competitive dynamism, a multitude of promotions and bonuses which removed all meaning from the displayed tariffs, preventing consumers from clearly identifying the cost of their communication.
The new tariffs voice and SMS, although AMRTP argues that they are effective since 1 st November 2019, telecom operators do not seem to respect them. The president of the Telephone Consumers Association, Adama Traoré, said that consumers said they did not feel the effect of this reduction.
The AMRTP also announced that steps are underway to also reduce the prices of Internet packages.