The quality of some telecom services has reduced even as operators have made the calls affordable, a new statement from the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) said late last week. The price wars that started last year have led to call rates dropping to as low as Ushs1 down from Ushs8 at this time last year. According to the UCC, they aim at making sure that communication is affordable and also ensure that there is quality in the delivery of this service. “Promoting fair, efficient and competitive market conduct in the telecommunications sector, encouraging and promoting investment in the telecommunications industry in Uganda, minimizing regulatory ambiguity in tariff regulation in the voice telephony market and enhancing consumer empowerment, well being and tariff awareness,” read a statement on the UCC website. Customers on some networks like Warid Telecom and MTN have consistently complained of dropped calls and network failure in their voice services despite the reduction in the call rates. The drop in the rates has led to the growth in the number of subscribers that some networks cannot handle unless they upgrade their networks. “The UCC is pleased to invite operators, prospective operators, consumer groups and any other interested stakeholders in the Ugandan communications sector to submit formal responses to the draft guideline,” read a notice in the Draft Retail Tariff Guideline for Voice Telephony Services. “The UCC is particularly interested in technical, legal and economic arguments and facts that are pertinent to the issues raised. Respondents are encouraged to submit any evidence available to them in support of their arguments advanced in their respective responses,” the notice continues. BM
