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Tanzania: Rules to check handset promo

FOLLOWING public outcry over what has been described as continuous and annoying phone calls and text messages for various promotions from mobile phone operators, the government is drafting guidelines to curb the malpractice.

A number of clients have even complained that they have been charged fees for the services forced upon them by mobile operators.

However, at the end of the line, there comes the good news that the government has taken notice of the grievances and is currently working on regulations that would restrict service providers from such unsolicited texts and calls. “Over the past two months, we have been working on regulations regarding the matter.

The public will be informed when they come into force,” Deputy Science, Communications and Technology Minister January Makamba, told the ‘Daily News’ on the sidelines of the ‘Capacity Africa’ meeting held in Dar es Salaam last week.

According to the deputy minister, the regulations would be implemented in line with the Electronic and Postal Communications Act (EPOCA) of 2010.

Mr Makamba said that the government has been collaborating with various stakeholders on the regulations following the complaints from mobile phone users.

The Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority’s Consumer Consultative Council (TCRA-CCC), said it has been receiving grievances from subscribers regarding the unsolicited services.

“For a long time now, most of the complaints from mobile phone subscribers have centred on unsolicited phone calls and text messages informing them of various promotional drives.

“As a consumer protection entity, we have been consulting with service providers and industry regulator on the said complaints to see what can be done to address them,” the TRCACCC Acting Executive Secretary Mary Msuya told 'Daily News'.

Ms Msuya further explained that the government has been working with stakeholders in the industry, including her institution, towards improvement of quality in service delivery.

“TCRA-CCC and other players were involved during enactment of EPOCA as well as the regulations on unsolicited phone calls and texts messages,” Ms Msuya said in a telephone interview.

In an interview with this newspaper last year, the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) Communications
Manager, Mr Innocent Mungy, said phone operators should provide customers with an option to block unwanted text messages and phone calls.

He pointed that customers, on the other hand, should ensure that they read and understand the terms and conditions set by the companies before subscribing to such services or other offers.

“A good number of subscribers hardly read the terms and conditions set by the firms and this is not proper. They should understand such conditions before joining the service provider of their choice,” Mr Mungy said then.

For some time now, it has been a trend by mobile phone operators to send unsolicited text messages and making phone calls to their customers informing them about new products, services and offers among others.

In June, this year, public outcry prompted Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) to ban telecom companies from
sending or making any unsolicited SMS and phone calls.

UCC’s Acting Director Competition and Consumer Affairs Fred Otunu said the ban was on any new promotions as a result of “numerous complaints from consumers.

He also said that Quality of Service (QoS) evaluation conducted by UCC indicated “noncompliance by the telecoms on a number of parameters.”

From the assessment of UCC, the promotions had led to a dip in the quality of voice calls, increased dropped calls and increased SMS from the telecoms, among others.

Source: Daily News (20/10/2014).

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