The country’s three main cellphone network operators have been called to a meeting today to explain the endless dropped calls, busy network signals and delayed messages that have infuriated subscribers in recent weeks.<\/p>\n
Vodacom, MTN and Cell C have been summoned to appear before the Independent Communications Authority of SA after the regulatory body was inundated with complaints from users.<\/p>\n
Authority spokesman Sekgoela Sekgoela said on Tuesday the companies had some explaining to do.<\/p>\n
“We have been taking a lot of complaints from the public. Complaints vary from not being able to make or receive calls and SMSs going or coming through late,” Sekgoela said.<\/p>\n
“We have sent letters to them to appear before the council to provide us with an understanding of the root cause of these problems so that a comprehensive solution can be arrived at.”<\/p>\n
Sekgoela said the organisation was “very worried” about the problems — “the mere fact that we called a meeting with them shows how concerned we are”.<\/p>\n
He said the companies would each appear before the regulatory body individually as “they are separate companies, so we will deal with each one on its own”.<\/p>\n
Chairman of the National Consumer Forum Thami Bolani confirmed there had been an increase in cellphone-related complaints.<\/p>\n
“People are complaining about these dropped calls and so forth. We’ve found that cellphone companies are often not willing to address the concerns of the public, while it is a concern to us because these problems are costing consumers a lot of money,” he said.<\/p>\n
Sekgoela said Icasa would inform cellphone users of its findings after today’s closed meeting.<\/p>\n
One of the issues under discussion is whether the networks experience call volumes that their infrastructure might not be able to handle.<\/p>\n
It is estimated that by next year, South Africa will have 48.5-million cellphone users and questions have been raised about whether the networks are able to accommodate all of them .<\/p>\n
MTN spokesman Zolisa Masiza said “the types of provisions made to accommodate the number of subscribers is an issue that will be discussed by all networks”.<\/p>\n
Vodacom spokeswoman Dot Field, however, said the company had not experienced problems or “any extraordinary issues on the network”.<\/p>\n
Cell C executive head of regulatory affairs, Nadia Bulbulia, would only confirm it would be meeting the regulatory body.<\/p>\n