The Maravi Post

BLANTYRE--Malawian telecommunications operators have ganged up and formed a top association led by CEOs to "engage" with stakeholders such as government, Macra and consumers.

The Association of Telecommunications Operators (ATOL), says the association is an umbrella organisation of all the four licenced and operational telecoms operators in Malawi: Access Communications Limited (ACL), Airtel Malawi Limited (Airtel), Malawi Telecommunications Limited (MTL) and Telecom Networks Malawi Limited (TNM).

Airtel CEO Saulos Chilima is its president and the leadership of ATOL comprises all CEOs of the operators.

The presidency shall rotate, Chilima said in a statement. TNM is currently hosting the association's secretariat.

Operators in Malawi have been fighting with MACRA since it introduced an expensive "spy machine" which monitors all activities of operators.

MACRA accuses operators of cheating on its income, especially receipts of calls originating from abroad.

Recently, Press Corporation CEO Mathews Chikaonda bashed MACRA for gifting K800 million to the government instead of constructing towers that could spread telecommunications networks to rural masses, where 85 percent of the Malawi population lives.
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