By JAMES KUNDA –
THE Zambia Consumer Association (ZACA) has said the Zambia Information
Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA) should probe the quality
of services being offered by the three telecommunications companies
operating locally.
ZACA executive director Samuel Simutunda said in an interview that the
quality of mobile services was not reflective of the high tariffs that
the telecommunications providers were charging.
‘‘Mobile service provision continues to be poor despite the high
tariffs that telecommunications companies like Airtel, MTN and Zamtel
are charging and that is why ZICTA must move in to probe the quality
of these services,’’ he said.
Mr Simutunda said the mobile service providers were also charging
exorbitant fees for participating in the competitions that they often
run to woo more subscribers.
‘‘Frequently, the quality of a telephone conversation is distorted and
when it comes to entering for a competition, it is also difficult
to get through to the customer complaints service,’’ he said.
Zambia now has one of the highest mobile phone tariffs in Africa
following Government’s decision to increase excise duty on airtime by
15 per cent, in compliance with the Customs and Excise Amendment Act
of 2013.
This meant that tariffs on calls and other mobile phone services
increased although the GSM operators opted to maintain the recharge
voucher prices.
