-For Price floor violation
By Vaye A. Lepolu
The Liberia Telecommunications Authority (LTA) has imposed fines of three hundred thousand United States Dollars each on LoneStar MTN and Orange Liberia for violating price floor regulations.
Acting Chairman of the LTA, Mr. Abdullah Kamara, announced that the regulatory body found both companies guilty of four serious violations, with the most significant being the breach of the Floor Price regulation and failure to submit crucial data with financial implications.
Mr. Kamara explained that the Floor Price regulation was implemented in 2019 to stabilize a declining market by setting a minimum consumer package price for data and voice services. This intervention was necessary to address the Price Wars between providers, who were engaging in Predatory Pricing practices to attract customers by offering below-market prices, resulting in network congestion, dropped calls, poor service quality, and revenue decline.
The Floor Price intervention successfully stabilized the sector, leading to increased revenue, network expansion, and innovation among providers. However, Mr. Kamara expressed concern over a recent trend of providers reverting to pre-floor price offerings, causing a sharp decline in the market and government revenue.
Despite previous warnings from the LTA to comply with the Floor Price regulations, the MNOs have continued to offer packages outside the set metrics, prompting the Board of Commissioners to impose fines on the companies.
Mr. Kamara emphasized that the actions of the MNOs have directly contributed to market disruptions, and the LTA has taken necessary steps to penalize them for their non-compliance with regulatory requirements.
The Acting Chairman of the Liberia Telecommunications Authority revealed that Orange Liberia possesses a cross-border connectivity license with Ivory Coast, which was obtained without written approval from the LTA. This license was utilized during the internet disruption in March and remains in use to this day, in direct violation of their licensing agreement.
He further noted that the temporary license acquired by Orange Liberia was not documented in writing, constituting a breach of regulatory protocols. Additionally, the LTA uncovered three unreported links owned by Orange Liberia, including two international and one local connection, without prior notification to the regulatory body, which is a clear violation of their license terms.
During a briefing at the Ministry of Information, Culture, and Tourism on Thursday, he emphasized that data transmission through these unreported links cannot be authenticated unless they are officially disclosed and authorized in writing by the LTA.
The Acting Chairman stressed the seriousness of these violations, stating that they undermine the LTA’s ability to effectively monitor the telecommunications sector. He expressed hope that the imposition of fines would deter such actions and prompt immediate compliance from Orange Liberia.
