adminwriting letters. According to the Postal and Telecommunications Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz) more than 70 percent of the country’s population is using cellphones and it has registered about 10 million cellphone lines.
The growing number of subscribers has been attributed to massive investment in the development of telecommunica-tion infrastructure and the adoption of new communication technologies by Zimbabweans. The country has three mobile network providers which are Econet Wireless, NetOne and Telecel. It is a fact that companies, institutions such as schools, universities, colleges, hospitals, farmers and ordinary Zimbabweans now rely on cellphones for communication.
The three mobile phone operators’ networks cover almost the entire country hence the use of cellphones is now widespread in both urban and rural areas. We ha ve already alluded to the fact that most businesses and important institutions such as hospitals now rely on mobile phones for communication. The use of these mobile phones has become very critical to operations of most businesses and institutions and therefore any interruption of this essential service has a huge bearing on businesses, institutions and the lives of ordinary people.
The reported feud between Econet Wireless and NetOne over $20 million interconnection fees is therefore very disturbing to all stakeholders whose lives have over the years depended on the two mobile operators’ services.
Econet alone commands about 70 percent of Zimbabwe’s subscriber base. On Thursday Econet which is accusing NetOne of disowning the interconnection agreement between the two, briefly disconnected all interconnection services it was providing to NetOne. This meant that no calls originating from NetOne could terminate directly onto Econet and vice versa.
NetOne challenged the decision at the High Court forcing Econet to rescind its move. It is too early to apportion blame because the case is before the courts and therefore sub judice but what we want to state on behalf of all stakeholders is that as subscribers we do not want any interruption of this essential service.
It is not an exaggeration to say that for the brief period that the subscribers failed to make calls across the networks following the disconnection by Econet, a lot of business was lost. We want to implore both parties to do all within their powers to ensure that the dispute is resolved amicably so that the subscribers can continue to enjoy the benefits of mobile phone service which, as we have already said, have become very critical in most business transactions.
Potraz as the regulatory authority cannot afford to take a back seat on this issue which is threatening to reverse the gains of the country’s massive investment in the development of telecommunica-tions infrastructure.
We want to once again appeal to all the parties involved to engage each other and find common ground as soon as possible. The country cannot afford another repeat of interruption of mobile phone services as this has a direct impact on the economy and people’s daily lives.
Online Reporter