Uganda: One Minute Recharge for Uganda Callers
By Katongole Kiwanuka – Competition in Uganda’s communication industry is set for the highest imaginable point as service providers now fight for the lowest denomination airtime scratch cards.
Just days ago, Zain Uganda soon to become Airtel, introduced a Shs200 recharge card. But on Monday Warid introduced a scratch card half that price – worth Shs100. Zain MD Yesse Oenga said at the launch of the product that research had shown that affordability was a key factor in increasing access and usage of mobile telecommunications in Uganda.
The new strategic airtime scratch cards allow one to make a phone call for at least a minute. There have been severe price wars in Uganda’s telecommunication industry with calls now going for as low as Shs3 per second.
On top of that, Warid and Uganda Telecom have introduced dual simcard phones that seem to be in vogue to many subscribers yet many Ugandans continue to enjoy non-stop free calls without terms and conditions.
*exchange rate for the dollar is Shs2000*
