The Communications Users Association of SA (Cuasa) has lodged a formal complaint with Icasa regarding all aspects of mobile cell call charges in this country, according to Cuasa spokesman, Ray Webber.

"Earlier this year we promised to investigate the high cost of SMS messages and cellular calls in this country. We feel that various aspects surrounding cellular call charges warrant closer inspection by Icasa," says Webber.

Cuasa"s view is that the cost of calls to and from mobile phones is, in general, far too high. In addition, it is not clear why the introduction of Cell C a few years ago does not appear to have reduced call costs.

"How can it be less expensive to call a landline in a number of overseas countries - including Australia, Canada, France, Greece, Ireland, Sweden, Switzerland, UK and the USA - from a Telkom line, than it is to call a local mobile number from the same telephone? If that is not bad enough, consider that it is less expensive to call mobile numbers in Canada, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, San Marino and the USA, than it is to call a local mobile number from a Telkom line," says Webber.

"SMS messages cost cellular operators virtually nothing to carry, therefore operators are charging excessive mark-ups and enjoying obscene profit margins for the service, at the expense of their users. Consider that it costs less to make a one-minute call from a Telkom line to a number of international destinations, than it does to send a 1 to 160 character SMS to a cellphone in these countries. One can say a lot more in one minute than one can communicate in a single SMS, while bandwidth used for the SMS is a mere fraction of that used for voice communications," Webber adds.

According to Webber, Cuasa is also urging Icasa to investigate interconnect tariffs in the industry.

"We understand that the interconnect tariffs between various operators in SA are considerably higher when calling from a Telkom line to a cellphone, than when calling in the opposite direction. We understand that these are R1.24 (US$0.19) versus R0.24. If this is true, why is it the case?" questions Webber.