Consumers count losses as ISP closes shop in Uganda

April 20, 2016 in Business, Communications, Companies, Infrastructure, Technology & Telecoms by Editor

KAMPALA, APRIL 20 – Hundreds of individual Ugandan and corporate clients are counting losses after internet service provider iN-connecting unceremoniously wound up its operations in the country.

256BN has learned that the ISP which closed business on March 31 had continued to sell packages to unsuspecting clients and in some cases, taking deposits up to six months in advance. Clients only got to learn of the development when they called the company to inquire about services that were progressively deteriorating.

Speaking on phone, a female employee of the company told 256BN operations officially ended at the end of March but she was not in a position to say if customers should expect refunds of unused balances.

iN is part of Foris Telecom International Group that holds ISP licenses in several African countries including Mozambique, Nigeria, Angola, Malawi and the two Congo’s. The company launched its Ugandan operation in April 2010 and was among the first to sell a 4G data offering in the country

iN,s problems are a microcosm of the challenges stalking Uganda’s highly fragmented data market where poor economies of scale have failed to moderate pricing or break the dominance of the major telcos. It also leaves regulator Uganda Communication in a tight spot which unlike its Rwandan counterpart RURA, has failed to design and enforce a consumer protection regime in the market.