Minister defends mobile phone charges
Gaone Marumoloa | Wednesday February 22, 2017 16:53
Responding to a question in Parliament, the minister said the reality is that phone charges are not expensive, but that what is expensive is data, noting that the data charges are very high.
“The reason advanced for this is because of the spatial distribution of our population,” Mokaila said, “and therefore, the infrastructure that goes with it to get to them is expensive”.
Mokaila said the Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority (BOCRA) regulates the prices and that they are within what the government believes should be realised for the infrastructure that they have.
He further noted that voice is disappearing and that internet services are becoming more and more pronounced.
“I see that we would be having less of telephone and more of internet connection,” he said.
He also pointed out that what government is doing is basically putting together a broadband base around the country to try and connect every household and business to the government broadband through the Botswana Fibre Networks (BoFiNet), which he said will bring down the charges.
Francistown East parliamentarian, Buti Billy had asked the minister to state why mobile phone companies, Mascom, Orange and beMOBILE (BTC), are continuing to charge ‘exorbitant’ phone and data charges.
Billy had also wanted the minister to state what is being done to address the concerns.