08 September 2022

Telecommunications companies operating in Tanzania must improve the quality of their voice, data and SMS offerings, especially in 15 districts where the provision of these services fall below the necessary quality requirements.

The Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) made this recommendation during a meeting with Vodacom Tanzania, MIC Tanzania (Tigo), Airtel, TTCL and Halotel, among others. They were told to put in place work plans to ensure service improvement in the 15 targeted areas.

“After that, TCRA will do another assessment before the end of the year to see if they have worked in the areas where service quality has been found wanting,” said Mwesiga Barongo, TCRA senior telecom engineer.

The regulator’s initiative follows quality of service (QoS) measurements conducted earlier this year. It is part of the regulator’s mission to ensure quality telecommunication services to the Tanzanian people in a context of growing demand. Last May, the government opened 5G for investment and tasked TCRA with allocating spectrum to service providers already ready for ultra-broadband trials.

Operators committed to improving their services as recommended by the TCRA to ensure that consumers receive quality services. “We are committed to ensuring that we comply with all instructions given to us by the authority, and we will ensure that we relentlessly follow all guidelines provided by our regulator,” said Andrew Lupembe, Vodacom’s network manager.