Zain in Pain, III: Zambian Regulator gives Zain 48hrs to resolve network problems

The pain of Zain continues as Zambia's Comms regulator CAZ, issues a 48hr ultimatum for the troubled operator to resolve it's network issues. And it's about time! I'm not sure about other countries, but Zain's Zambian network has been consistently under performing from day one! It's started off as Zamcell, then changed to Celtel, and now Zain, but the one thing that's remained consistent throughout is the company's poor network performance. The company has always been criticised for concentrating on rapid growth at the expense of quality, while the regulator was said to be too weak to protect consumers. CAZ must now walk the walk after that tough talking and show that users can have confidence that the regulator is there to protect their interests.

This is the editorial of the Times of Zambia:

"THE 48-hour ultimatum given by the Communications Authority of Zambia (CAZ) to Zain Zambia to resolve cellular phone network problems is welcome.

The two-day time frame in which the cellular phone company is required to put its house in order should be a wake-up call to all other utilities and services providers.

Every service that is provided to the end user,as is the case withphysical goods, comes at a price which the end user is obliged to pay for. In other words, it is a commercia ltransaction in which money is exchanged for the services rendered.

This implicitly infers contractual obligations on both parties.

Wheresuch a service is of such poor quality that the end use rhas partial or no access at all,it becomes an abrogation of the contractual terms under which the service is bought.

Abrogation of contractual terms in any commercial undertaking is a serious breach which can result instiff penalties. As a means of communication,thecellular phone has become a vital accessory for business.

Failure or difficulty to communicate at an appropriate time can result in huge losses through loss of business.

This isone of the reasons why, whenever there is any undertaking to provide a service, due diligence should be taken to ensure that the optimum standard of that service is provided.

There are also other inconveniences suffered by subscribers outside the business realm when they fail to communicate effectively and on time.

Zambians should not be denied the efficient international class service which is accessible to millions of other users of communication systems globally.

Evenwithin the continent, certain segments of the communications market are enjoying high quality service.

The urgency to provide effective infrastructure in all sectors of the economy has assumed added impetus when Zambia and other regional states position themselves to integrate trade commerce at the continental level.

This requires that on the technological level, Zambia moves in tandem with the rest of the continent.

The cellular phone provider knows the problem that has been causing network failure.

It is incumbent upon them to go to the root of the problem and ensure that the glitches are resolved once and for all.

This is essentially what the CAZ is asking Zain Zambia to do, and in the normal run of commercial business anywhere, this is the standard procedure.

In the same vein, CAZ could take another look at the nature of penalties that are applicable currently to any defaulting party.

Where theseappear not to bea sufficient deterrent, it would be a good ideafor the communications authority to introduce even stiffer ones."

Meanwhile, Telecoms.com reports that "speculation that Zain is looking to sell off its African portfolio was fuelled further this week, after it emerged that Swiss bank UBS has been appointed to help the firm assess its operations".