After sampling network coverage in various areas of the country, Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), has kicked off investigations into Airtel’s 4G (fourth generation) network. According to a letter dated July 22 2019, UCC informed the telecommunication company that following several complaints from customers, it discovered that Airtel’s claims of providing 100% 4G were not accurate.
Exclusive reports that Campus Bee has accessed reveal that campus students have been among the most affected users with majority of them severally complaining about Airtel’s network across Makerere, MUBS, KYU and Mukono based UCU.
“This is really good news. Not to misuse words, but my skype connection with my course supervisor in Leeds has been sh*#t everytime I would be on Airtel and I didn’t know it was fake 4G all along” Ojok, a Masters student at Makerere told our reporter.
He is not alone. Another student, David Aine of Kyambogo said his internet has always had problems – something his colleagues on the other networks were not experiencing.
Airtel has been advertising that it provides 4G broadband cellular network, which enables users to access it with up to 100mbps per second. Airtel also alleged that its 4G enables IP telephony, gaming services, high-definition mobile TV, video conferencing, and 3D television.
“Following preliminary investigations conducted in the sampled towns of Kampala, Mukono, Entebbe and Jinja to establish the level of coverage and download throughput of Airtel’s 4G network, the Commission found that whereas Airtel’s LTE signal was available in over 90% of the areas sampled, the network speeds were much lower than what is internationally expected for a 4G network service,” UCC wrote.
UCC further puts Airtel on the spot to prove its 4G network capabilities while directing the telecom company to provide technical evidence on their capacity to offer 100% 4G network across the country within two weeks.
“Show cause why regulatory sanction(s) should not be instituted against Airtel Uganda Limited for misrepresenting to its customers and the general public about its network quality and speeds.” UCC added.
Amid the controversy, Faith Bugonzi, the Airtel Spokesperson promised to release official communication regarding the alleged probe.
