Tanzania has launched a Telecommunications Traffic Monitoring System (TTMS) which is expected to help the telco regulator collect taxes and up revenues from international calls made to the country and also measure to the quality of service from telcos.
The country also added that the system could be used to measure revenue or carrier access, billing information and mobile money transactions. It can also be used to track, detect and block fraud traffic and identify one’s SIM card profile or the careers terminal equipment.
The system will also ensure telco’s comply with the law apart from just collecting levies.
Established bySGS-Société Générale de Surveillance and Global Voice Group for the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority and implemented by the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA), the TTMS will track volumetry and the billing of the international traffic entering Tanzania and detect and eliminate international communications by-pass fraud.
TTMS will also provide the capabilities to fight against mobile devices theft and counterfeiting, as well as the monitoring of mobile money transactions.
According to Prof. John Nkoma, Director General of the TCRA, speaking on the public launch, “Before the installation of this system, it was very difficult to know the exact traffic and unscrupulous people were using illegal and unlicensed international networks [in order to route calls to Tanzania] that led to the government and legal service providers losing revenue.”
The system will help monitor and end illegal traffic into and out of the country to its over 28 million SIM Cards holders, the Tanzanian Minister of Communication, Science and Technology, His Excellency Prof. Makame Mbarawa also highlighted the positive impact of the project by stating, “The TTMS will not only facilitate the government to collect its taxes but also enable mobile operators to increase their revenues.”
The government estimated that the project would generate additional revenue of 20 billion TZS per year, solely through the monitoring of international incoming calls. According to President Kikwete, “It is a commendable move, making almost 20 billion per annum from zero is a very promising step.”