Uganda has seen massive drop offs in the number of calls made on its mobile phone markets, which has many experts and industry leaders worried that the sector is suffering. Airtel’s managing director V.G Somashekar said that efforts are being implemented that would improve on services and make calling much easier for users.
“We have connected over 1 million additional subscribers over the past few months in addition to retaining the existing ones,” he said in an interview. “The minutes people spend talking on our network has also increased three times from the previous 2 to 3 minutes per day because calls are now more affordable.”
Somashekar argued that Uganda has a fluid market and that customers are again beginning to look at the mobile phone with optimism. It takes time to renew trust in the companies, he said.
“Dropped calls sometimes happen during network expansion and upgrades but even then, UCC set a certain percentage that is acceptable. When it exceeds the acceptable number, it affects the quality of calls one makes,” he said.
“Across the market, we are the telecom with the least dropped calls as well as complaints about calls because we have made it a priority to ensure that customers enjoy maximum clarity and limited congestion on our network even during network expansion and upgrade exercises.”
He added that regulator efforts will be positive in the long-term and customers must understand this as a stepping stone to the future, “with cheaper rates and better service as infrastructure improves.”
By Staff
