APA-Harare (Zimbabwe) Zimbabwe’s telecommunications regular says it will monitor mobile phone messages to fight what it sees as abuse of the short-message-service (SMS), state radio reported here Sunday.
The acting chief executive of Postal and Telecommunications Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ), Charles Sibanda told the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation that his organization would prosecute subscribers found abusing the SMS service.
Zimbabweans have relied on the SMS service to communicate political messages, particularly after the disputed March 29 general election which was won by the opposition.
Individuals and civic organizations have used text messages to communicate news headlines, election updates or political jokes about President Robert Mugabe.
Sibanda warned that POTRAZ could trace the source of any abusive message and bring offenders to book.
Zimbabwe already monitors Internet traffic following the passing last year of legislation allowing President Mugabe’s government to eavesdrop on telecommunications.
POTRAZ is a statutory body established in 2001 to licence and regulate players in the telecommunications industry.
Posted to the site on 18th May 2008
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