Theft of cables disrupts phone services in Jinja
Mar 27, 2011
VOICE and data transfer services in Jinja town have been disrupted due to a rise in the theft of telephone cables belonging to utl.
By Frank Mugabi
VOICE and data transfer services in Jinja town have been disrupted due to a rise in the theft of telephone cables belonging to utl.
Utl said the thefts, which have been going on since January, have caused sporadic disruptions in service to over 400 clients in the area.
“Last week, the cabinet at Nizam Road and the Main Street junction that services 469 clients was vandalised. Various cooper cables were stolen, which brought down Internet and voice call services,†said Godfrey Kakembo, the firm’s eastern region business manager.
Kakembo added that about 300 meters of telephone cables were stolen at Walukuba Housing Estate, which affected over 30 clients.
“The cases have been reported to the Police, but no arrests have been made,†he said.
Kakembo explained that the stolen cables can be used in common electronic gadgets.
He was responding to concerns raised during a one-day ICT consumer’s public dialogue that was organised by the Uganda Communications Commission at Main Street Primary School in Jinja town recently.
Kakembo said utl would start laying its cables underground to reduce the thefts.
At the same dialogue, several residents raised complaints of dropped calls, charges for undelivered messages, poor network coverage, especially in rural areas, double charges on mobile money services and disguised promotions that fetch telecom companies more profits than the alleged rewards to clients.
Ruth Anyango from Mayuge district urged the firms to revise the commission airtime retailers get.
She said it was disheartening to earn only sh200 from airtime worth sh10,000.
Irene Nakaggwa, a consumer affairs officer with UCC, noted that the dialogues that were also to be held in Iganga and Tororo, were intended to identify and address consumer issues in the telecom sector.
VOICE and data transfer services in Jinja town have been disrupted due to a rise in the theft of telephone cables belonging to utl.
Utl said the thefts, which have been going on since January, have caused sporadic disruptions in service to over 400 clients in the area.
“Last week, the cabinet at Nizam Road and the Main Street junction that services 469 clients was vandalised. Various cooper cables were stolen, which brought down Internet and voice call services,†said Godfrey Kakembo, the firm’s eastern region business manager.
Kakembo added that about 300 meters of telephone cables were stolen at Walukuba Housing Estate, which affected over 30 clients.
“The cases have been reported to the Police, but no arrests have been made,†he said.
Kakembo explained that the stolen cables can be used in common electronic gadgets.
He was responding to concerns raised during a one-day ICT consumer’s public dialogue that was organised by the Uganda Communications Commission at Main Street Primary School in Jinja town recently.
Kakembo said utl would start laying its cables underground to reduce the thefts.
At the same dialogue, several residents raised complaints of dropped calls, charges for undelivered messages, poor network coverage, especially in rural areas, double charges on mobile money services and disguised promotions that fetch telecom companies more profits than the alleged rewards to clients.
Ruth Anyango from Mayuge district urged the firms to revise the commission airtime retailers get.
She said it was disheartening to earn only sh200 from airtime worth sh10,000.
Irene Nakaggwa, a consumer affairs officer with UCC, noted that the dialogues that were also to be held in Iganga and Tororo, were intended to identify and address consumer issues in the telecom sector.