MTN faces criminal charges for poor service
Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA) says it has instituted criminal proceedings against the three mobile operators in the country, citing a failure to meet minimum standards of quality of service.
The operators include Airtel Networks Zambia, MTN Zambia, and Zambia Telecommunication Company (Zamtel).
MTN has an 86% share holding in MTN Zambia. The country has a population of 13.9 million people, and a mobile penetration rate of 60%.
MTN is the second largest operator, behind Airtel, with a market share of approximately 40% or 4.2 million subscribers as at March 2013.
ZICTA said it has resolved to take remedial measures relating to enforcement of quality of service, “in order to protect public interest in pursuant of the Information and Communication Technologies Act No. 15 of 2009”.
“The deteriorating levels of quality of service has made communication difficult and resulted in increased public outcry and negative impact on ease of doing business in Zambia,” it said in a statement.
The local telecoms authority said it has an option to invoke either administrative or criminal sanctions arising from the failure to adhere to the set parameters relating to quality of service under the published Quality of Service Guidelines.
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