Zain, UTL, MTN cut call rates

Telecommunications companies; Zain, UTL and MTN cut call rates in what is seen as a major price war in the industry. This follows a move by Warid telecom that saw a reduction in its call rates to Shs5 per second. This is the biggest reduction, ever witnessed on the Ugandan market. Ugandan call rates were among the highest in the East African Region and this is a big step towards making communication affordable by the average consumer. However, even after the reductions, these rates are still high. A similar price war in Kenya saw giants Safaricom and Zain reduce their call rates. Uganda's telecoms subscribers were estimated to be 8.2 million people in 2009. The other service that has gathered stiff competition among the telecoms is the mobile 3G Internet service. Amidst all these developments, there are several complaints of poor service delivery in the telecoms sector, with the most affected player being MTN. Complaints range from lack of access to Customer care agents to unsolicited messages. One can only hope that the telecoms will not just stop at making calls affordable but also reliable and convenient.