Mobile services should be "as of right"

The decision by mobile service provider Zain to launch an airtime notification service that will automatically alert subscribers on how much credit they use on calls is good; at least it shows that the battle for network supremacy is still on.

With the 3 billion shilling war chest, Rene Meza, Zain Kenya MD, hopes to outdo Safaricom’s Michael Joseph in investment decisions. It means that the public will benefit from the expanded service.

While the new Zain service will update customers every time they use their phones on voice calls, SMS or data services, this should be a right. The Communications Commission of Kenya should ensure that every network has such a service to enable consumers to take control.

I have heard people complaining that they loaded credit of 100 shillings, made one short call, and the credit was gone. This service will take care of such incidents, but it should have been there from the word go.

Kenyan consumers have a right to know how much they are charged on calls at a particular time, and it should not take a fun fare launch of “network expansion” for a GSM company to launch such a service.

CCK should make it a standard that consumers should be notified of the cost of calls. It should be a right, not a privilege!

No one should feel that this network is better because it allows him or her to monitor the cost of calls made.