The Growth of Tanzanian Mobile Phone Sector: Triumph of Quantity, Failure of Quality?

Abstract
Tanzania’s mobile communications market has enjoyed impressive growth in terms of numbers of operators and subscribers over the past few years. Currently there are six operating companies and over 10 million voice subscribers. It is expected that the number of subscribers will keep on increasing in this decade. However, the question is: Has the increase in the number of operators and subscribers resulted in improved customer services and quality? This presentation reports from a preliminary study—which used both analytical research and empirical data from interviews with operators— to find an answer to this question. The analytical and archival research provided operational statistics concerning telecommunication. The interviews focused on five main thematic areas: the use of mobile phones, future use of mobile phones, customer care, mobile phone rates and customers’ rights awareness. The results from this preliminary study show that the rapid development of the Tanzanian telecommunication market has not yet resulted in improved customer services and quality.
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Citation
Mtenzi, F.J., Chachage, B.L. and Ngumbuke, F., 2008. The growth of Tanzanian mobile phone sector: triumph of quantity, failure of quality. Proceedings of M4D, Karlstad University Sweden, pp.55-61.