Mobile phone operators under the microscope

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Prosper Ndlovu Business Editor

THE Postal and Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz) is keeping a hawk’s eye on mobile phone operations and will soon be coming up with a monitoring system to ensure they render quality service to subscribers, an official said yesterday. Addressing delegates during a mobile markets and telecoms forum in Bulawayo yesterday, Potraz technical manager Engineer Nick Muzhuzha said while mobile phone usage was on the increase, subscribers were not enjoying quality service from the three mobile phone operators, NetOne, Telecel and Econet.

“Our network penetration and roll out has been good in the past three years, thanks to our mobile operators. But the next stage is network optimisation, depth and quality of service.

“We’ve observed some bad behaviour where you have calls being dropped and poor connectivity,” said Engineer Muzhuzha.
“Potraz is investing in a quality service monitoring system and we have acquired equipment that allows us to look at how mobile networks manage their operations.

“We’ll be able to do tests and detect the problem. We therefore urge operators to be more moral, address these challenges and not offer shoddy service. Let them invest in optimising their work and enhance quality service.”

Subscribers have also complained over poor network, high charges for data downloads and poor call centre inquiry responses.
Engineer Muzhuzha, however, said mobile phone operators were playing a critical role in the country’s economy and commended the players’ investments.

He said network penetration had increased from about nine percent in 2009 to almost 100 percent with almost every one having a cellphone.

The engineer said telecoms infrastructure development and maintenance was critical for the country to meet its economic development targets.

He said the ongoing fibre optic installation projects across the country by companies such as TelOne, Econet, Powertel and Africom, were progressing well.

The increase in mobile phone usage, said Eng Muzhuzha, had led to densification of the network, which required operators to share infrastructure, cut unnecessary resource wastage and curb duplication of services.

During discussions, participants drawn from local industry and government officials called for the crafting of legislation that will enforce resource sharing.

Others complained that contractors tasked with installing fibre optic cables were leaving open trenches that exposed the public to accidents and health risks.

The forum was organised by Innotec (Pvt) Ltd and continues today with participants set to discuss among other issues, ICT growth and economic development, mobile money transfer systems, building interconnected mobile money environment and protecting of customers.

Its theme is “Embracing Technology for Accelerated Socio-economic Development”.

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