Hari, i think my friend Sanga has bailed me out, but one of the things, i have not highlighted clearly (i posted a draft) is that Telecoms dont share masts easily, and yet in some countries, the regulator is able to hold a stick, unlike in Africa, where regulatory bodies like UCC are weak, and are not able to do much.
you can argue, that its not their fault, using examples like weak legislation, i dont subscribe to that school of thought, UCC for example, has a conflict interest, the money it receives from these Telco;s makes them vulnerable, how can you regulate someone who is footing your bill. With this scenario, you find MTN getting unfair advantage, by the simple fact, it contributes the largest sum to UCC. Now again, you can argue that all Telco's pay 1% so its not MTN s fault that its 1% is higher than most of the other Telco;s combined. This money should go to the consolidated fund and not UCC. UCC knows this, but have you ever heard a monkey advocate to have a forest cut. allow me to explain, how this is a conflict interest, and how its counter productive. Fast forward (actually rewind) to 2008 or earlier. Global recession. Banks sold mortgages to people who didnt qualify (a liar's loan), They even fooled people that if you own, a mortgage, you dont have a loan, you are sitting on gold (a stack of cash), you can refinance. wall street bundled these loans into some complex acronyms, (CDRs and derivatives). Alan Greenspan former US chief Economist, admitted that he knows a lot of math, and has access to over 100 PhDs, but these equations, were something else. The regulators who rate these loans gave them AAA ratings, and if they failed to rate them favorably, the regulator would lose business. The bank would hop to the next regulator. The burble had to burst at some point. These fake CDRs were sold offshore to countries like Norway (among others). A Mayor of a city in Norway, whose council bought these things, in an interview said she no longer trusts men in suits. And what did the men in suits have to show her, AAA. The house of cards came down, and the rest is history. But the banks didnt lose a penny, they had bets, and the government bailouts. The Norway city like similar investors, had to cut down vital social services, like school programs, fire department, benefits to the elderly, etc. Back to MTN, i dont think UCC can arbitrate a reasonable mast sharing agreement between MTN and a new entrant, so the new entrants, have to waste capital, on building their own masts, or pay exorbitant lease fees. The end result is high fees for consumers, less coverage (climbing trees to access network), etc. With weak regulators, in place, most of the reforms proposed will simply remain lip service. And governments have to play a vital role. Of course i will get some slak from "Free market economy enthusiasts", but when the free market is in free fall, they run to the government. I wonder why,
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