Uganda telecom regulator to 'name and shame' poor providers

In a move that will delight users of telecommunications services in Uganda, the industry regulator is set to introduce a "name and shame" approach to monitoring the sector that will be aimed at getting providers to not only offer higher service quality but also to treat their customers better.

The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) will monitor and review the quality of service offered by telecommunications providers.

The idea is to arm users with all the information they need to wisely choose a provider.

"As we re-enforce our commitment to ensuring that users of telecommunications services get value for their money, the UCC will introduce a name-and-shame policy. We will monitor providers' quality of service and publish the results," said Patrick Mwesigwa, the acting executive director of the UCC.

"And we think this will be effective and make operators take appropriate action when they offer users a poor service. It is an appropriate tool in a highly competitive sector like ours," Mwesigwa said. The approach is scheduled to come into force at the end of March.

Users buy service based on how well a service is packaged, and the advertising blitz that is characteristic of telecom also sways customers before they use a service or product.

Users often experience problems with products such as mobile phones, yet often the warranties on those devices are not respected by vendors.

The complaint mechanism set up by the UCC is not known to be fast or effective.

Telecom providers have customer care divisions, but they nevertheless still leave users at the mercy of the companies themselves.

In October last year, the UCC signalled a move in helping address consumer concerns over poor Internet bandwidth when it announced it would monitor Internet bandwidth.

"We are planning to get equipment that will help us monitor the bandwidth. If you agree with the service provider to give you, say, 60 kilobytes, there is no mechanism of establishing that it is the actual bandwidth you are getting," Isaac Kalembe, the media and public relations specialist at the UCC, said at the time.