A village in Tarime that is yet to get mobile phone connectivity
What you need to know:
- Residents use their phones to only take picture as handsets due to lack of network coverage.
- This has forced some to move to other areas where network is available in order to communicate with the rest of the world
Mara. Residents of Kebeyo Village in Tarime Rural District are yet to receive mobile phone connectivity since the services were first introduced in the country over 20 years ago.
The village hardly receives any signals making mobile phones rather useless for now and as a result forcing them to look for other options which are indeed costly.
Residents say lack of communication has stalled their development because they cannot receive mobile money transfers which have become a way of life today.
According to Charles Gibore, for them to communicate they have to go to Tarime town which is some 21 Km away to get connectivity.
The youth are the most affected as they cannot afford to stay behind and as a result they are forced to rent houses in neighbouring villages to get access to mobile networks
According to the area ward councillor,Joseph Mugini, communication has become a major hindrance to their growth, urging mobile phone service providers to address the issue.
Another resident Anna Muturi, a primary school teacher revealed that they had written to Airtel Tanzania, Vodacom and Tigo asking them to improve connectivity to the area.
She said that sometimes they are forced to cross into Kenya to access networks of which they incur roaming charges while making calls.
"We dont know on how to get their attention. We have been writing to them from time to time but still no response," she said
