UCC uncertain on registered sim cards as deadline looms
Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) was by yesterday unable to give the numerical progress of the ongoing sim card registration exercise expected to end on March 1, a year after it was launched.
In a telephone interview with the Daily Monitor this week, Mr Godfrey Mutabazi, the UCC executive director, said the overall performance of the registration campaign will be provided at the end of the exercise, reasoning that what is most crucial right now is for individual subscribers to ensure that their lines are registered as per the deadlines or risk being switched off in March.
He said: “Registration will be closed at the end of the month after which telecoms will be required to block unregistered simcards. Those that have not registered should hurry up and do so because; we (UCC and telecoms) agreed to maintain the initial February 28 deadline.”
Registration progress
UCC’s failure to provide simcard registration numbers is not helped by telecom firms, many of which have stayed cagey on their numerical progress. Save for Orange telecom which says that about 80 per cent of its 1.1 million subscribers had registered by end of January 2013; the others are only relaying percentages without declaring their latest subscribers bases.
For example, MTN Uganda says that more than 70 per cent of its subscribers had registered by end of January, Warid reports about 67 per cent, and Airtel more than 68 per cent. However, the failure to have a clear impression of the total numbers of the already registered and unregistered subscribers is in essence affecting all telecommunication stakeholders as no one can evaluate the progress of the exercise and forge a clear way forward.
Registration reasons
According to the ICT minister, Mr Ruhakana Rugunda, simcard registration was adopted to streamline the telecommunication sector and also protect both the country and its people from individuals who use mobile phones to plan and perpetuate crime.
But since the exercise was launched on March 1, 2012, telecom firms have highlighted absence of national IDs as the biggest challenge to registering their subscribers mainly in rural areas. This, they believed, has slowed what would have been a faster exercise.
Last week, a journalists’ body, Human Rights Network for Journalists (HRNJ) filed an application to court seeking an injunction to stop UCC from blocking sim cards of unregistered subscribers on the stated deadline, on grounds that the whole exercise is illegal as there is no parliamentary approval.
Read MoreNew telecom claims over 80,000 subscribers
New player K2 telecom, has already gathered more than 80,000 subscribers before launching calls across all networks services, Mr. Saul Katumba Segawa, the telecom’s interim chief executive officer, has said.
In an interview with the Daily Monitor last week, Mr. Segawa said in just a month after K2 was officially launched, the telecom has already acquired a clientele base of up to 82,000 subscribers and is now finalizing inter-telecoms before its full-service package is availed across all networks.
“K2 is finalising the process of interconnect negotiation with the other telecom companies; a process that has lots of relationship dynamics to agree upon such as call tariffs. In just a few days, we will have this finalised and K2 will effectively have full service levels,” Mr Segawa wrote.
He added: “We are focusing on building the K2 family with the benefits of affordable call rates. Our clients are benefitting from affordable calls at Shs100 per minute.”
Despite claims that the telecom is collaborating with an international telecom, Mr Segawa noted that K2 is an indigenous company without any foreign capital investment.
Asked to clarify about K2 telecom’s subscribers, UCC executive director, Mr Godfrey Mutabazi, said he did not have any official statistics since the new entrant has not submitted them.
Read MoreTelecom player faults industry price wars
A telecommunication player has advised his counterparts not to indulge in unjustified price wars again, arguing that they are harmful to the industry and unhealthy for the economy.
Speaking at a function to release its 2012 financial results in Kampala last week, MTN chief executive officer, Mr Mazen Maroue, said low call rates not only constrain telecom operators from making more investments but also lower their contribution to the economy through reduced tax revenues.
The telecoms industry entered a price war in 2010, stretching into 2011. According to the revenue collecting body, price wars in the telecommunication sector led to a shortfall of Shs24 billion due to the decline in average call rates.
Mr. Maroue said: “We have ensured that we have an efficient market and call rates that will contribute to the economy’s development.”
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Read MoreLow income earners to access insurance
Low income earners, who have for long been unable to afford insurance covers, are set to benefit from a new product that will enable them to pay their medical bills in case of an accident.
The MyLife mobile personal accident insurance product launched by Liberty Life – a life insurance service provider – and MCash – a mobile money payment service provider – provides cover for accidental disability, loss of life as well as hospital cash back in the event the insured is involved in an accident, upon payment of monthly fees of between Shs2,500 and Shs12,500 depending on the plan.
The product has three plans including silver where a customer pays monthly fees of Shs2,500, gold Shs6,250 for the gold plan and Shs12,500 for the platinum plan.
Upon being hospitalised for more than 72 hours, disability or loss of life, the beneficiary or customer is entitled to a lump sum of Shs1 million, Shs2.5 million and Shs5 million for the silver, gold and platinum covers, respectively.
Speaking at the launch of the product in Kampala yesterday, Mr Joseph Almeida, Liberty Life managing director, said the product was driven by the insurance firm’s commitment to create a range of products and solutions to meet customers’ ever changing financial, investment and lifestyle risk situations. “One will never know when an accident will occur and sometimes the unexpected happens when we least expect. …MyLife will take away the burden of worrying about the financial implication of such an accident,” Mr Almeida said.
Tracking claims
He added that the firm has sophisticated software that enables them to track at any stage claim submitted to ensure prompt settlement after receiving all the required documentation.
MyLife product is expected to improve access to insurance, especially among the lower segment of the population which has for long been untapped and grow penetration rates from the current 0.6 per cent, at which it has stagnated for years. The product, however, will be accessible to M-Cash account holders as premiums will only be paid through M-Cash.
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