Malawi is hosting a three-day Capacity and Traffic Southern Africa (CTSA) conference organised by the Southern Africa Telecommunications Association (Sata), with the Malawi Telecommunications Limited (MTL).

The above started in Lilongwe yesterday, HOSTING telecommunication carriers, operators, service providers, cooperating partners and the industry to discuss regional telecoms capacity, roaming and traffic business.

Present at the meeting was Minister of Information, Mark Botomani who hailed the forum as means to come up with recommendations of concrete steps to building our capacity and reliability of our regional infrastructure connecting to the world.

CTSA Chairman, Sevelus Nakashole, said the meeting will look at a number of challenges affecting pricing of telecommunication products in the region, including the promotion of national players to deal with each in acquiring technologies rather than using foreign multinational companies.

On the other hand, according to the latest Malawi Economic Monitor by the World Bank, high taxation as one of the major factors behind exorbitant internet charges in the country. The Economic Monitor says Malawi’s entry-level broadband packages at 19% of per capita GDP are exorbitant than the 5.2% of per capita GDP in Uganda and two percent in Kenya.