Uganda's highly competitive telecommunications market is made up of five GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) operators who have been engaged in a tough price war dating back to 2009, when Warid Telecom introduced near-free calls for users after they paid for a low-denomination recharge voucher.

In a public notice that was issued on June 10 the UCC said, "following a consultation process involving relevant stakeholders from the communications industry, the Uganda Communications Commission hereby announces the issuance of new tariff guidelines for Retail Voice Telephone Services in Uganda."

The notice went on to say , a draft of which are publicly available, are based on recent trends in the voice market and are aimed at promoting fair, efficient and competitive market conduct in the telecommunications sector.

But on Tuesday, David Ogong, the UCC director of competition and corporate affairs, said the regulator was continuing with a consultation process that started in January this year, even though the Friday public notice seemed to suggest the process had been complete.

"The Uganda Communications Commission wishes to clarify that it has not issued a directive to telecommunication operators in form of retail tariff guidelines as reported in the press," Ogong said.