The Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) has convened a week-long engagement meeting with stakeholders in the telecommunication sector in Lilongwe, where they are discussing challenges that have rocked the sector and compromised quality of service to their customers.
 
Speaking Tuesday August 29, 2023 MACRA’s director of telecommunication Edward Kauka said the authority is overwhelmed with concerns from consumers on how poor telecommunication services are affecting their daily living. They cited frequent dropped calls and high internet cost as examples.
 
Kauka said this is unfortunate as telecommunication is regarded as very important tool in any development process, hence calling for the meeting to appreciate challenges the operators are going through, and see how best they can help to improve service provision.
 
“You will appreciate that our operators have been doing business in the country for some years now, but we keep receiving complaints from people about poor quality services on telecommunication. So, we thought it wise that we bring together all the stakeholders in the sector, to discuss all the challenges and map the way forward," said Kauka.
 
He added; “We have engaged an expert from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) who is going to facilitate the process, having done bench-marking across the world and he will direct us on the way forward.”
 
By the end of the exercise MACRA says it will revise Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and regulations to start punishing none-compliant operators, when found offering poor services to the people.
 
Commenting on the matter Executive Director for Consumers Association of Malawi (CAMA) John Kapito said, they anticipate a candid discussion with players in the telecommunication sector, having presented their grievances to the authority bordering on poor services.
 
“I think the cost of communicating in the country is a bit high, and we raised such issues with MACRA to intervene.
 
“High cost of data, challenges with connectivity and unreliable mobile money services have become the order of the day and we hope this meeting will help address them for us to start enjoying these services.”
 
Apart from CAMA, the regulator has invited participants from Airtel Malawi and TNM.