New mobile phone company coming

A new mobile phone network and telecommunications services company, Nyasa Mobile, has announced its intent to roll out operations in the country by the end of this year.

Its coming, according to experts, would help improve competition on the market, where prices of services remain relatively high. It would also help enhance mobile penetration.

The country’s mobile space is dominated by two firms.

In an interview on Monday, Nyasa Mobile Chairperson Konrad Buckle said the firm is in a strategic partnership with Vodafone Global and is coming as a game changer on the market.

Buckle said the two firms have been assessing the telecommunications industry and wanted to bring new and cheaper services to Malawians.

“It has taken other existing operators about 20 years to have not even 100 percent coverage in Malawi, which shows it is a massive project and our rollout will be phased but we will make sure the coverage is faster so that we cover a large population,” he said.

Buckle was, however, not clear on how much investment is being put in the project.

He was quick to indicate that the company, once it rolls out operations, will bring out different economic benefits to the country, including more than 400 direct jobs in less than five years.

While applauding the development, Consumers Association of Malawi (Cama) Executive Director John Kapito said consumers expect quality services.

“Even though companies have been coming, we have not seen price reductions on their services; therefore, what we expect is that the consumer should see affordable services,” he said.

Meanwhile the ICT Association of Malawi President Bram Fudzulani has applauded the move, rating it as a step towards growth.

“People have been complaining that maybe the reason we have poor services is that there is less competition. Therefore, the coming in of a new company would be a wakeup call to industry players and a benefit to Malawians,” he said.