Internet Operators Will Be Punished

The State Law Office (SLO) is currently reviewing these new regulations. One of the highlights of these regulations is to punish operators who do not give satisfaction to the consumers in terms of value for money. Two types of sanctions are thus considered: (i) reduction of the duration of the permit Internet service providers (ii) public condemnation and strict warning.

Asked by Le Matinal, the Minister of Information Technology and Communication, Tassarajen Pillay Chedumbrum, said consumers do not currently know how many gigabytes they buy. "How do you know if you actually bought two GB? Very often consumers complain that so many gigabytes are spent quickly. This particular aspect we will be checking. We have reason to believe that there is something wrong, "said Tassarajen Pillay Chedumbrum. New materials have been installed to check if consumers have many gigabytes they buy.

The ICT Ministry has studied the dossier before submission to the SLO. The first sanctions were envisaged were to suspend or revoke the license of the operator. After careful consideration, the ministry came to the conclusion that such a possibility may penalize consumers.

The Department has opted for two penalties. The objective of the ICT Ministry is putting a lot of emphasis this year on the quality of the Internet, where consumers are able to benefit from a better capacity at a better price. The Internet access rate stood at 22% in 2010 rose to 45% this year. The rate of Internet penetration in Africa currently stands at 13%.