[kictanet] in the news

[Rebecca Wanjiku]

ICT lobby group to educate users on their rights
Written by Okuttah Mark
Friday, 20 April 2007 [NAIROBI]

Formation of an information and communication technologies (ICTs)
consumer lobby group in Kenya, and a tender by the communications
regulator for partners to educate Kenyan ICT consumers on their rights
 point to a shift towards reducing  the vulnerability of users.

As more people rely on ICTs in their daily lives, the more they  open
themselves up  to financial and other abuses.

According to Alex Gakuru, chairman of Kenya ICT Consumer Association,
as the Internet, mobile telephony and other technologies take centre
stage in Kenyan life, consumers must be made aware of their rights.

"Consumers have a right to be informed about services they are
getting," Mr Gakuru said. "Informed people always make informed
decisions."

According to Mr Gakuru, while ICT users  remain ill-informed of their
rights and have little legal protection against abuses, this is  in
contrast to corporate clients who often sign service level agreements
with ICT service providers. The association alludes to complaints over
services from Internet service providers (ISPs) as well as fixed and
mobile telephone operators.

According to Mr Gakuru, telephony users contend with costly local
land-line calls, mobile network congestion and poor coverage in some
areas, as well as too many failed calls. Some customers, the group
adds, have lost pre-paid credit after buying it, or been charged for
SMS messages that were never sent.

<snip>

<http://bdafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=679&Itemid=3064>


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