22 April 2010
Dar Es Salaam MIC Tanzania, a mobile phone operator trading as Tigo, has 'silently' hiked its airtime tariffs, a move that industry watchers describe as stealing from the unsuspecting customers.
According to the cellular phone operator's website, Tigo subscribers actually pay, albeit unaware, 25 per cent over and above the tariff rates that the company is propagating. The tariff rate for the company's peak hours that start at 6pm through 10pm is 1/25 against the widely publicised 1/- per second.
The tariff increase took effect soon after the firm announced its record lowest tariff of half a shilling per second after the first minute, the talk of the town currently.
According to Industry sources, the 6-10pm are the most productive hours in which mobile phone companies generate over 50 per cent of their revenues. This is reportedly the time when majority people are through with work and have ample time to socialise with family members, relatives and friends.
The four-hour hike in tariff by Tigo, informed sources say, enables the company to compensate for the lost revenues during the hours in which subscribers talk at the half shilling per minute.
Interviewed people have criticised the company, saying even if the tariff hike sought to compensate for the lost revenues, the hike should have been communicated to the public through proper means, not the website whose access is limited to few people compared to those subscribing to the network.
"Informing the public about a price hike through the website is merely stealing from the majority people who do not have access to the internet - we make calls not knowing exactly how much we are being charged," one irritated Tigo subscribers complained to the 'Daily News'.
Amina Athuman a Dar es Salaam resident said that the company should have advertised the increase just as they do when they reduce tariff so that people should make choices on how and when to make calls.
"When they reduce tariffs they don't just advertise on their website - they advertise in various media of communications - radios, newspapers and televisions - to reach majority of Tanzanians. But now they have increased tariffs, they opt to advertise on the web which only few people have access to," Ms Athuman charged.
But, Tigo Public Relations manager Jackson Mbando denied claims of tariff increment, saying the company was always striving to reduce their prices to become the cheapest and widely affordable.
He said that the company has no intention to increase tariffs, adding that the 1.25 per second tariff was tax inclusive. However, the announcement on the website has stated that the charges are tax exclusive.
Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201004220953.html
Dar Es Salaam MIC Tanzania, a mobile phone operator trading as Tigo, has 'silently' hiked its airtime tariffs, a move that industry watchers describe as stealing from the unsuspecting customers.
According to the cellular phone operator's website, Tigo subscribers actually pay, albeit unaware, 25 per cent over and above the tariff rates that the company is propagating. The tariff rate for the company's peak hours that start at 6pm through 10pm is 1/25 against the widely publicised 1/- per second.
The tariff increase took effect soon after the firm announced its record lowest tariff of half a shilling per second after the first minute, the talk of the town currently.
According to Industry sources, the 6-10pm are the most productive hours in which mobile phone companies generate over 50 per cent of their revenues. This is reportedly the time when majority people are through with work and have ample time to socialise with family members, relatives and friends.
The four-hour hike in tariff by Tigo, informed sources say, enables the company to compensate for the lost revenues during the hours in which subscribers talk at the half shilling per minute.
Interviewed people have criticised the company, saying even if the tariff hike sought to compensate for the lost revenues, the hike should have been communicated to the public through proper means, not the website whose access is limited to few people compared to those subscribing to the network.
"Informing the public about a price hike through the website is merely stealing from the majority people who do not have access to the internet - we make calls not knowing exactly how much we are being charged," one irritated Tigo subscribers complained to the 'Daily News'.
Amina Athuman a Dar es Salaam resident said that the company should have advertised the increase just as they do when they reduce tariff so that people should make choices on how and when to make calls.
"When they reduce tariffs they don't just advertise on their website - they advertise in various media of communications - radios, newspapers and televisions - to reach majority of Tanzanians. But now they have increased tariffs, they opt to advertise on the web which only few people have access to," Ms Athuman charged.
But, Tigo Public Relations manager Jackson Mbando denied claims of tariff increment, saying the company was always striving to reduce their prices to become the cheapest and widely affordable.
He said that the company has no intention to increase tariffs, adding that the 1.25 per second tariff was tax inclusive. However, the announcement on the website has stated that the charges are tax exclusive.
Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201004220953.html