UCC backtracks on directive to telecom companies
Uganda Communications Commission director competition & affairs David Ogong address journalists at UCC office in Bugolobi June 14. He said the interconnection call rates are proposals not a directive as reported in the press. Photo by Stephen Wandera
The Uganda Communications Commission has withdrawn a declaration it made last week in respect of new charges it has adopted for voice telephony services in Uganda.
At a press conference this Tuesday, Mr David Ogong, the director, competition and corporate affairs said; “UCC had not issued a directive to telecommunication operators in form of retail tariff guidelines as reported in the press.” “The commission is concluding the process of consultation with industry players and other stakeholders,” he said at the press conference in Kampala. The process started in January this year.
But in a public notice issued by the same Commission on page 20 of the New Vision newspaper on Friday, it indicated that the consultation process had come to an end and new rules and tariffs would apply to the telecommunications industry.
“Following a consultation process involving relevant stakeholders from the communications industry, the UCC hereby announces the new tariff guidelines for retail voice telephony services in Uganda,” the notice reads in part.
Mr Fred Otunnu, the communications and consumer affairs manager at UCC told Daily Monitor that the Commission now stands by the new position. “The clarification we gave you today is the right one. There must have been a mistake in that statement down there,” Mr Otunnu said.
