Mobile telecommunications operators in Uganda that provide poor-quality services could face government-imposed fines by year-end.

Dropped phone calls and a lack of widespread network availability are problems that plague Ugandan mobile phone customers, says Patrick Mwesigwa, Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) director of technology and licensing.

As a result, the commission is drawing up a gazette report that will ask the country`s administration to pass legislation to allow the government to fine operators for low-quality services. The values of the fines have not been decided on yet by the commission.

The report will be completed after the end of consultations between stakeholders and the commission in mid-March, he notes.

Mwesigwa says telcos in the country have blamed their poor service on unreliable power supplies, frequent fibre-optic cable cuts by some road contractors, and vandalism of telecommunication tower infrastructure.

The commission will see how each of these issues should be addressed, says Mwesigwa.

Dobek Pater, telecoms analyst at African Analysis, says reasons for Ugandan operators` problems of poor service are a result of growing demand for mobile phones, which has become a strain on the country`s limited telecommunications infrastructure.

Pyramid Research analysts forecast that mobile phone penetration in the country is to rise from 39% in 2009, to 70.7% in 2014, resulting in the number of subscriptions reaching 27 million.

Pater says operators in that country also have less cash to invest in infrastructure, because they have lower margins as a result of having cut their voice call rates to compete for customers.

Uganda could become the first country in Africa to take the issue of fining telecommunications companies one step further by creating legislation for it, he adds.

Pater says Nigeria is one of the most active countries on the continent when it comes to telcos being fined for poor service. However, that country`s independent communications commission issues the fines for poor quality services, and not the country`s government.