Telecom war in Uganda: Survival for the fittest but who gains

The Telecom war in Uganda is getting rather interesting of course depending on which side you are. If you are a user like myself, you must enjoy this. With the cut throat competition, we stand to benefit more.

Since the liberalisation of the telecommunications sector in Uganda, more and more Telecom companies having been licensed to operate.
First was Celtel which came with an image that has mostly worked to their disfavour now if you ask me. Airtime was sold in dollars. This being a young economy meant most people were left out.

Enter MTN that appealed to all wanaichi with stacks of dollars or not. If you were in Uganda, you can vividly remember the shoe shiner who called his boss to tell him he had finished shinning the shoes so he can pick them.
It looked like everyone could be subscribed.

Enter 2007 and two more Telecom companies - UAE based Warid telececom and Hits telecom are liberalised.
Warid launched just this month January 2008.

A look at their outlets reveals long queues of hopeful subscribers who dream that their rates might be better.

In response MTN, Celtel and Uganda Telecom have invested heavily in advertising. Of course media houses and advertising firms win here.

But as the telecom companies continue fighting for customers, Ugandans hope the tariffs will be reduced.

A friend said she can't wait to make a call for at least 200 Uganda Shillings as compared to the 350 now on average. It costs about 0.67 cents to make a three minute call in Uganda.

So as the war rages who will benefit....
It will be me I hope....
Lets wait and see