In brief: ICASA published new call termination rate regulations in December 2024, establishing a three-year glide path from July 2025 to July 2027. Large operators (Vodacom, MTN, Telkom) move from 7c to 4c per minute on mobile termination. Fixed-to-fixed rates drop to 1c by 2027.
What ICASA Changed in December 2024
On 11 December 2024, ICASA gazetted amendments to the 2014 Call Termination Regulations, establishing a new three-year rate reduction schedule effective from 1 July 2025. The regulations govern what mobile and fixed operators can charge each other to terminate calls on their respective networks — rates that flow directly through to the wholesale SIP trunk pricing that SA VoIP resellers pay.
The Full Rate Table: 2025 to 2027
Large Operators (Vodacom, MTN, Telkom — over 20% market share)
| Effective Date | Mobile-to-Mobile | Fixed-to-Mobile | Fixed-to-Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 July 2025 | 7c/min | 7c/min | 5c/min |
| 1 July 2026 | 5c/min | 5c/min | 4c/min |
| 1 July 2027 | 4c/min | 4c/min | 1c/min |
Smaller Operators (Cell C and others — 20% or less market share)
| Effective Date | Mobile-to-Mobile | Fixed-to-Mobile | Fixed-to-Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 July 2025 | 9c/min | 9c/min | 5c/min |
| 1 July 2026 | 5c/min | 5c/min | 4c/min |
| 1 July 2027 | 4c/min | 4c/min | 1c/min |
New Entrants (3-year asymmetric protection)
| Effective Date | Mobile-to-Mobile | Fixed-to-Mobile | Fixed-to-Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 July 2025 | 9c/min | 9c/min | 6c/min |
| 1 July 2026 | 7c/min | 7c/min | 5c/min |
| 1 July 2027 | 5c/min | 5c/min | 2c/min |
What These Numbers Mean in Practice
The most significant movement is in fixed-to-fixed termination, which drops to just 1c/minute by July 2027 — a 75-80% reduction from the 2025 rate. This effectively commoditises local fixed-line termination. For VoIP resellers whose business relies on fixed-to-fixed SIP trunk traffic (office-to-office calls, hosted PBX to PSTN fixed lines), this is the rate that most directly affects your cost base.
Mobile termination reductions are more modest — from 7–9c to 4–5c over three years — but still represent a 40–45% cost reduction on mobile termination for calls originating from hosted PBX platforms to SA mobile numbers. Given that the majority of business calls in SA terminate to mobile numbers, this is the rate line that matters most for call centre and SIP trunk clients.
How This Flows Through to SIP Trunk Pricing
Wholesale SIP trunk termination pricing in SA currently sits at approximately 8–12c/minute for calls to SA mobile numbers, depending on the wholesale provider and volume commitments. As ICASA’s regulated termination rates decline:
- July 2025: Wholesale providers face pressure to reduce rates as underlying costs drop; expect 1–2c/minute reductions in competitive pricing by Q4 2025
- July 2026: Mobile termination reaches 5c — wholesale market pricing should trend toward 6–8c/minute for SA mobile calls
- July 2027: Mobile at 4c and fixed-to-fixed at 1c creates a floor that makes fixed-line termination effectively free; voice pricing shifts from per-minute to quality and reliability differentiation
SA resellers who have locked in multi-year SIP trunk contracts at current rates should review those contracts now — particularly any that do not include rate-review clauses tied to ICASA regulation changes.
Industry Reactions
The cuts were not universally welcomed. Telkom warned that the aggressive fixed termination cuts would disproportionately disadvantage smaller operators. ISPA questioned the pace of fixed-to-fixed rate reductions, arguing they could harm operators that depend on fixed termination revenue to fund network maintenance and expansion. ICASA proceeded with the schedule as gazetted.
The three-year glide path was designed to give operators sufficient runway to adjust cost structures — a phased approach that avoids the market disruption of an immediate cut to final rates.
What SA Resellers Should Do Now
- Review SIP trunk contracts — identify any that have rate-review clauses or expire before July 2027; renegotiate before Q3 2025
- Build cost-savings messaging for clients — July 2025 rate changes are an opportunity to demonstrate value: proactively show clients their call cost reductions
- Adjust margin planning — if you pass through some cost savings while retaining margin, factor the 2026 and 2027 drops into your pricing model now
- Watch the fixed-to-fixed floor — by 2027, fixed termination is almost free; the competitive advantage in fixed-line calling shifts entirely to quality, reliability, and features
What This Means for SA Resellers
ICASA’s revised call termination rates have a direct impact on the economics of SIP trunking in South Africa, which in turn affects the cost structures resellers build into their hosted voice and UCaaS proposals. When mobile termination rates change, the per-minute cost of calls to South African mobile numbers shifts — and calls to mobile numbers dominate most South African business calling patterns, given the country’s high mobile penetration and relatively low fixed-line usage outside of Gauteng’s business districts.
SA resellers should review the SIP trunk pricing they receive from their providers (Euphoria Telecom, Vox, CallCentric, and others) in light of any rate changes, and ensure their customer proposals and recurring invoices reflect the updated costs. Resellers who bundle unlimited calling packages rather than charging per-minute are particularly exposed to changes in termination rates — a rate increase can erode margin significantly if bundles aren’t repriced promptly.
More broadly, ICASA regulatory changes are a signal that the South African telecoms market remains actively managed. Resellers who monitor ICASA proceedings — available on icasa.org.za — and communicate regulatory context to clients demonstrate industry expertise that differentiates them from commodity resellers. Clients in regulated industries (banking, insurance, healthcare) in particular appreciate resellers who understand the regulatory environment their communications infrastructure operates within.
About the Author
Mechelle Gindra
Mechelle Gindra is the managing editor and lead content strategist at Telecoms-Channel, South Africa's dedicated intelligence platform for telecoms resellers, ICT distributors, and channel partners. She oversees the editorial team's AI-assisted content production pipeline, ensuring vendor news, market analysis, and regulatory updates are accurate, timely, and actionable for the SA telecoms channel community. With deep expertise in the South African telecoms reseller ecosystem, Mechelle directs coverage of vendor partner programmes, ICASA regulatory developments, wholesale market dynamics, and channel business strategy. She is responsible for maintaining Telecoms-Channel's editorial standards, fact-checking processes, and corrections policy.
