6 February 2008
Kampala — For the first time ever Ugandans will make calls for as low sh124 a minute as WARID comes on line today in a near countrywide launch, the company has said.
The Abu Dhabi-based company will switch on their network today in most of central, eastern and western Uganda, making it the fourth mobile phone company in Uganda.
"We do not just want to be a service provider but part of your family. We are about respect for our clients, not just about tariffs," WARID country general manager Zul Javaid told The New Vision in an exclusive interview.
WARID, which wants to establish itself as a mass-market brand with a pre-paid service, will initially charge sh299 for peak hours and sh249 off-peak within its own network.
In addition, under its Friends and Family package, the new company offers a 50% discount to five pre-registered numbers within the network, or sh149 during peak hours and sh124 off-peak.
Peak hours will run Monday to Friday from 8:00am to 9:00m, while off-peak periods are between 9 pm and 8 am in week days, and all weekend.
Other phone companies charge between sh340 and sh380 a minute at peak time, and between sh280 and sh300 off-peak.
While WARID to WARID calls are up to one third of other companies, calls to other networks are slightly more expensive due to interconnectivity fees. Calls to other networks will cost sh449 during peak hours and sh349 off-peak.
"The off-network calls are more expensive to other networks because they charge us higher and we cannot control quality. We want to encourage people to buy five sim cards so their friends and family can all join together," Javaid said.
WARID also has a service per second, where it charges sh7 within its network and sh4 for friends and family. To other networks, it costs sh9 per second. Sending sms-messages within the network will cost sh100 (peak) and sh50 (off-peak), while messages to other networks cost sh125 each.
More than 200,000 SIM cards will be available in the 36 customer centres around the country for sh3,000 each. The SIM cards will come loaded with sh1,000 airtime and 50 free SMS within the WARID network.
"In addition, as a special offer, WARID subscribers will be able to call to 467 international destinations at the rate of a local call (sh449 a minute) up to the end of March," he said.
Javaid said the post-paid services and other products will come on line in a few months, but he gave no specific dates.
The company has spent more than sh400b to set up its network that will see places between Tororo in the east and Kasese in the west switched on today.
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Hi there it is good that Ugandans have had their eyes open on how they are being exploited by different networks. It is also good that someone is to have a fair price for what he/she loads on the phone which is welcome to we Africans