Prices of overseas telephone calls have crashed. Users with relatives and friends abroad had a pleasant New Year present when they realised they could make phone calls for much less than MT off-peak rate (Rs 13.80 per min).

Calls to most popular destinations range from Rs 6.35 with Easicall of Data Communica-tions to Rs 8.50 with Worldcard of Paging Services. Even MT promotion of its Passepartout calling card at Rs 11.50 could not match the offer.

But consumers are in for more surprises: with its three licences, Mahanagar Telecom Mauritius Ltd (MTML) is promising the earth. Moreover, government has just released its policy plan to further the development and integration of telecommunications with other IT media.

The most feared MTML, the mega-company owned at 56,25% by the Indian government, will start operating in six months. Unlike the others, it plans to offer fixed line telephony (local and overseas) and is investing Rs 520 millions in its own high-tech wireless network and 55 relay stations.

The Indian giant will also provide mobile telephony, now offered by Emtel and MT subsidiary, Cellplus. MTML?s Executive Director, Ashok Girotra, has already laid his cards on the table. ?Our prices are much lower than those of MT.? And MTML may offer free mobile phones to subscribers.

The deregulation process

Thirteen companies are eligible for licences but competition started so aggressively that some are thinking twice. The first to throw in the sponge was the joint venture Rogers Telecom-Outremer Telecom. Referring to the slashed prices, a Rogers Executive admits ?his company cannot function on a market where the game will be on a day-to-day basis.?

If competition is a boon for consumers and businesses, deregulation has looked less appealing to MT. The brilliant only child must now share its market with adopted siblings and review its overall strategy. Established in 1992, it was privatised in 2000 with France Telecom as strategic partner. The primary provider of telecom services is a flourishing company with a turnover of Rs 4.6 billion and Rs 1.5 billion profit before tax in 2002. It used to meet all telecommunications needs of the country.

Liberalisation started on 1st January 2003 but it took a full year to become reality. The bone of contention was interconnection prices. Former CEO Megh Pillay argued that MT had invested billions and could not share its network for peanuts. For him, real competition means providers investing in their own networks. This is precisely what MTML plans to do. However, now that other players are on the field, a MT official says: ?We are more than ready for competition. We have served the country for years and have not only the know-how but also the trust of customers.?

The road of wisdom

Through this expected price war, the government has kept cool. Its ambition of making ICT the fifth pillar of the economy can only realise itself through competitive service providers and quality telecommunications facilities. It even launched the deregulation process one year earlier and gave the regulator the backing for its smooth implementation.

Government?s concern now is to move ahead by promoting the integration of the various IT media. The approval by Cabinet of National Telecommunications Policy 2004 is eloquent. The five-year strategic plan is geared to ?ensure equitable and judicious execution of the telecommunications business?. The highlight is new legislation ?to achieve convergence in the fields of IT, media, telecommunications and consumer electronics? by the end of 2004.

Making telephone users happy is not the be-all and end-all of liberalisation. It is just a tiny drop in the ocean of globalisation. The challenge now is to move to a higher level of telecommunications that will help Mauritius fulfil its ambition of becoming a cyber island. The two main issues are training people to work in the ICT sector and moving into technological convergence that will attract foreign investment and help the country take its place in the global world.

Marie-Claire LASSÉMILLANTE