Similarly, under this new framework, the authority has also fixed the ceiling for both on-net and off-net voice calls at D2.40 per minute, inclusive of termination charges.
Thus, the latest decision ares part a broader measures, designed to protect consumers, while ensuring fair play in the country's telecommunications sector.
At the presser held on Friday at PURA head office on Kairaba Avenue, Dr. Njogou L. Bah, Director General of PURA, explained that the day's engagement marks the conclusion of a deliberate regulatory process, not the opening of a negation.
“The decisions we are announcing today are the result time, evidence and structured consultation, undertaken with full appreciation of the competing interests within the telecommunications sector.’
DG Bah maintained that discussion around price controls, particularly the price floor, arose during a period of significant market distortions.
At that time, he observed aggressive tariff undercutting was not driven by efficiency or innovations, but pricing practices that threatened service qualify, long-term investment, and ultimately consumer welfare.
In response, he stated that the Authority introduced a temporary price floor as a stabilisation measure, adding that this intervention was lawful, proportionate and firmly grounded in PURA’s statutory mandate.
“It was never intended to be permanent, nor was it designed to replace cost-based regulation. Its purpose was to preserve market order while the necessary analytical work was carried out,” he added.
The PURA DG pointed out that during the process, the Authority was fully aware that the measure generated strong reaction; chief among was the concern raised by President Adama Barrow, who he said, urged the authority to remain acutely mindful of consumer affordability and access, while the Minister for Communication and Digital Economy requested that the price floor be abolished in favour of a more consumer friendly outcome.
To that end, PURA maintained that the consultant's findings were subject to validation, stakeholder consultation and inter-institutional review.
“Operators were engaged. Consumer groups were heard. Divergent views were examined against evidence rather rhetoric.”
The authority, he added, is therefore satisfied that the determination they announced are technically sound, legally defensible and commercially realistic.
“They are not designed to shield inefficiency, nor enable unsustainable pricing practices.”
Thus, after a broad consultation with all stakeholders and industry players, the Authority has resolved as follows; that operators shall no longer charge tariffs below their actual cost of operations; data price for mobile data is set at GMD75 per GB; a maximum rate of GMD2.40 per minute for on-net voice call; Off-net voice call pricing shall be determine as One-net price plus the termination rate; the interconnection termination rate is set at GMD0.40 effective 1st January 2026 with an annual reduction of GMD0.10, reaching zero by 2026; while key among their determination is for the first time in the Gambia, unused data shall now roll over when a consumer resubscribed within 30 days.
Burama Jammeh, director of Economic Relations, PURA, and Solo Sima, Deputy Director General, PURA, both expressed similar sentiments.
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