The telecom watchdog is looking at giving payphone operator Tritel, a facilities based licence to allow it to penetrate deeper into the rural areas.
Tritel has been calling for a facilities based licence since 1999, to expand into rural areas that are not serviced by other telecom network operators. rn
rnTritels service deployment is currently dependent on the telecom networks coverage and service availability.rn
rnThe Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) senior officials said on Monday that Tritel was being considered as a special case and could issue a licence on the merits of its rural expansion programme.rn
rnOfficials added that the boundaries of the licence were however, still under discussion and were unable to set a deadline for issuing the licence. rn
rnTritel is holding over 500 payphone units in stock due to a lack of telephone connections in rural areas earmarked for growth. rn
rnA further 1,600 payphone units will also be available for deployment this year. rn
rnTrit