Ministers' meet phone service providers over tariffs

Ministries of Media, Information and Publicity, and Information Communication Technology on 24 February 2009 met with the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) and the chief executives of the country’s cell phone and telephone service providers to probe a review of the current tariff structure.

MISA-Zimbabwe petitioned the government and service providers over this matter end of 2008 and early this year.

The phone service providers were last month licensed to charge their tariffs in foreign currency, causing an immediate outcry from the public which the Ministers’ raised as a concern. Ssubscribers’ across the country’s three networks Telecel, Econet Wireless and Net One pay USD0, 29 cents per minute and USD0, 30 cents per 3 minutes on a landline.

The licensing of phone service providers to charge in foreign currency came about after they cited serious challenges in the maintenance of their equipment as the local currency was incessantly and rapidly losing value. The mobile service providers also said that the foreign currency would aid in accessing latest software that would see subscribers keeping up with the latest technologies.

Meanwhile, Econet Wireless Holdings has reportedly secured a US$94 million dollars loan to procure equipment for upgrading and expanding the network’s capacity. The move is set to improve service to existing subscribers and take on another 500 000 more subscribers.

Econet Wireless is the largest mobile phone operator in Zimbabwe.

The Ministers of Media, Information and Publicity, and Information Communication Technology, Webster Shamu and Nelson Chamisa, respectively, were sworn in on February 13, 2009. However, it is still not clear what portfolios each of the ministries handle.

Rashweat Mukundu
Programme Specialist: Media Freedom Monitoring
MISA Regional Secretariat
21 Johann Albrecht Street
Private Bag 13386
Windhoek, Namibia
Tel: + 264 61 232 975
Fax:+264 61 248016
Mobile: 00 264 813 675 362
E mail rashweat@misa.org, misaalerts@gmail.com

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