Harare takes aim at ISPs

Zimbabwe's Government has introduced hefty fines for poor service in the country's telecommunications industry. Voice of America reports that ICT Minister Tatenda Mavetera said the authorities would levy fines of between $200 and $5 000 per infringement for telecommunications companies and ISPs who fail to give reliable service. Willard Shoko, an independent high-speed internet consultant, said the new fines could result in a solid telecom industry that could compete in the entire southern African region. ‘The motive behind that is to improve Internet for the end user. But I think they should also consider improving the infrastructure sharing and also collaboration to improve Internet, not only for the region but also for Zimbabwe, because this is the foundation of the digital economy,’ Shoko said. Fungai Mandiveyi, media and corporate affairs executive at Econet Wireless, Zimbabwe's biggest telecommunications company, said the new regulations would be easier to comply with than those that existed before. ‘The new provisions introduce a new model of penalties, unlike the blanket penalty that existed in the previous statutory instrument,’ Mandiveyi said. ‘The new penalties are now linked to specific quality of service breaches, that have also been clearly spelled out. There is now more clarity in what constitutes a service breach, and what penalty goes with a specific breach of the quality of service.’ However, Christopher Musodza, an independent digital policy consultant, said the pressure to maintain Internet service during Zimbabwe's frequent power outages may present challenges for telecom companies.