Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA) on Monday this week ordered local telecommunications company MTN Rwandacell Plc to solve all problems related to its call services. In a statement released on August 23, the utilities regulator said sanctions will be taken if MTN Rwanda fails to comply with the directive. The notice added that MTN Rwanda had to comply with 2019 regulations determining the quality of cellular network services by October 29, 2021 in Kigali City and by November 30, 2021 in the rest of the country. In case the deadlines are missed, the utilities regulator warned that “further regulatory sanctions, including the monetary sanction shall be applied immediately.” The warning to the teclo was not a surprise to many; members of the public have over the past months been raising concerns about MTN Rwanda’s call and internet connection services. While it was addressed to a specific telco, the warning should serve as a wakeup call to other service providers in the market whose quality of service is not value for users’ money and time. Often, products and services of essential products have been found to have major flaws and failing to live up to client expectations and not providing value for money. Among products and services that have often been found wanting range from drinking water, medical services, to internet provision. Going forward, the trend to regularly review customer complaints and requiring service providers to do right by their clients should be rolled out to other sectors and operations. This will serve to deliver value for money, improve efficiency as well as ensure that customer complaints do not go ignored as has been the case in multiple instances. As for the telco, they should consider a brainstorming session to come up with ways to make up for the previous months that services have largely been unreliable.
