The Malawi Communication Regulatory Authority (MACRA) on Monday awarded a licence to a new mobile service company- La-Cell public telecommunication Company, increasing the number of mobile service companies in the country to five.

MACRA’s Director General Geofrey Itaye said the new entrant signifies more investment coming to Malawi at the same time creating a competitive scenario on the market.

“MACRA is convinced that Lacell will be able to deliver and make a significant contribution to the economy, “said Itaye.

Itaye then advised the newly licensed mobile company to positively contribute to the improvement of the communication sector by connecting Malawians in the under-served communities as a larger percentage of people remains.

Lacell board chair, Faruk Satar promised to create a winning situation for all players in the communication sector which includes consumers, fellow operators and the nation at large.

“We will ensure value for money on data and telecommunication services, high speed and efficiency, explained Satar.

While welcoming Lacell on the market, MACRA’s Director General has hinted that the CIRMS machine will be operating in the next 3 month to ensure proper monitoring as one way of controlling consumer violation by service providers who up to now goes unmonitored.

Lacell public telecommunication company is local entity which had shown commitment to join the telecommunication sector by paying the full 10 year license fees amounting to 600 Milliom Kwacha.

Satar said currently, technical and finance teams are concluding some foundation projects in readiness for the roll out come mid 2016.