The Communication Regulators Association of Southern Africa (CRASA) says complaints over slow and unreliable broadband access are increasing in the region.

The regional grouping of telecom watchdogs in southern Africa said this subsequently calls for policies aimed at regulating and enforcing the provision of high-speed and reliable internet services across the Southern African Development Community (SADC) bloc.

CRASA is currently running an ICT conference under the theme "Universalising Broadband in (the) Southern African Development Community (SADC)" in Malawi. The conference has drawn participation from regulatory bodies from 13 regional countries.

Bridget Linzie, the head of Electronic Communications at CRASA, said on Thursday at the conference in Malawi that complaints over low quality internet were rising fast.

She said SADC member countries needed to craft policies aimed at ensuring expansion of quality broadband internet to all areas, including rural areas.

"Broadband is key for social and economic development of the country, hence the need for countries to adopt it and expand broadband policies to rural communities," Linzie told delegates to the conference.

CRASA is also seeking to "ensure that countries which are not along the African coast... get better internet services at a low price". Linzie said such countries were currently "paying a lot of money" to access internet services.

Zimbabwe is carrying out a survey to determine the usage and quality of telecommunications services in the country. Malawi, on the other hand, says its national policy on Information and
Communication Technology (ICT) seeks to enforce the provision of high quality broadband internet.

Chimwemwe Banda, principal secretary in the Malawian Information Tourism and Culture also urged regional countries to prioritise the provision of high speed and quality broadband internet services.

"This is a cross cutting issue such that each government within the SADC region has promised to work hard towards having a quality broadband," said Banda.