Surely, if as Stephen Gyasi reports in your magazine, Ghanaian mobile subscribers are unhappy with the network operators, there is a simple answer (‘Mobile Subscribers up in arms’, African Business, July 2010 issue). Do not resort to taking to the streets to demonstrate; just switch off your phones and make no calls for an hour each day until the companies promise to both improve their service and lower tariffs.

The market rules supreme in consumer issues such as these. As soon as the operating companies realise their call traffic is plummeting, their revenues stagnating and profits are suffering, they will immediately do something about restoring customer satisfaction and service quality.

I suppose the main problem is that the mobile phone has moved from being a luxury item to now being an everyday necessity for most Africans. But if a switch-off is properly planned and executed, for, say, one hour every day until matters are resolved, this is the answer. Let the force of the market force the operators’ hand!