The Telcos Into Focus: Are Customers Getting a Fair Deal?

Technology is revolutionizing the world. How people deal and interact with each other is not the way it used to be since the day people used to converse by use of smoke signals.

The telecommunication industry has taken the world to the next level. The dream of making the world a global village has long been realized and Kenya has not been left behind.

Kenya has various telecommunication companies that have been at the forefront of providing such services as voice calls, data, messages and even mobile banking services.

The evolution in the telecommunication sector has put Kenya on the global scale especially in the area of mobile banking, making her top country in financial inclusion for three consecutive years.

The telecommunication industry in Kenya is regulated by the Communication Authority of Kenya which was established in the year 1999 by the Kenya Information Act of 1998 with the responsibility of facilitating the development of the information and communications sectors including; broadcasting, multimedia, telecommunications, electronic commerce, postal and courier services.

One of the key responsibility on the Communication Authority of Kenya and one that has elicited controversy in the recent months is that of licensing of all systems and services in the communications industry, including; telecommunications, postal, courier and broadcasting.

On Saturday morning, Kenyans were hit by the news that the man at the helm of licensing and regulating the telecommunication sector in the country had been sent on a compulsory leave allegedly over gross misconduct.

The Director-General of the CA Francis Wangusi is said to have been forced to take leave, pending an investigation following a decision by the board. Sources indicate that Mr. Wangusi might have engaged in malpractice in staff training and promotions at the regulator. Also on the list of allegations includes corruption although the Authority has not issued a statement concerning the matter.

His compulsory leave and some of the allegations heaped on him leaves bare the questions most Kenyans have been asking about how the telecommunication regulator has been running the affairs of the industry players especially in the issuance of licenses to some players.

As Wangusi goes home for the compulsory leave, two issues remain unresolved:

• The mystery surrounding the issuance of license to Jamii Telecom Limited
• Whether Airtel paid for its 4G license.

This begs the question: what is really happening in the telecommunications sector in Kenya? Are players in the sector being treated fairly? Are customers getting what they really deserve and has corruption compromised the system?

The coming of Jamii Telecom Limited into the Kenyan market was meant to enhance competition in the Kenyan market as far as telecommunication services and products were concerned.

The inception of Jamii Telecom Limited in Kenya was not a bad idea but how the company came to be issued with the much coveted mobile service license, giving it the power to operate in the same league with tier 1 companies despite the fact that it was in the tier 3 category raised more questions than answers.

Word has it that Jamii Telecom paid only 100,000 shillings to be given the license instead of the required fee of 2.5 billion shillings that other tiers 1 players are required to pay for the privilege. This is also not to mention that there is still a lot of uncertainty as to whether Airtel paid for its 4G network license and why the Authority has been reluctant in ensuring that that is done.

Other players in the sector, Kenyans included raised questions and as usual, the Communications Authorities rubbished the ‘allegations’ but terribly failed to shed any light on how it gave what is considered as a finite public resource to a private company. It promised to issue a ‘substantive statement’ in the ‘due course’ which we are still waiting.

The only statement that came forth from the regulator was “contrary to what appeared in the media…the Authority wishes to clarify that no money has been lost in the authorization given to Jamii Telcom” and this was from the Authority Chairman Ngene Gituku.

The questions that many Kenyans and other players alike have been asking and which the Communications Authority has failed to provide ‘convincing answers include:

• Did the Jamii Telecom follow the due procedure in applying for the license to offer mobile services on the 700 Megahertz?
• Did the Communications Authority follow the required regulations in September 2016 granting a trial license to Jamii Telecom to offer mobile phone services on the 700 Megahertz?
• Is it true that Jamii Telecom only paid 100,000 shillings and not the required 2.5 billion shillings to the Communications Authority?
• Did the Communications Authority consult other players in the sector to know whether they were also willing to place bids for the same space as required?
• Did the Communications Authority find out whether Jamii Telecom had the capacity especially in infrastructure to fully utilize the space that it was being given?

The mystery surrounding the licensing of telecommunications operators in Kenya does not end with the Jamii Telecom alone. Aitel Kenya was awarded a license two years back but since then, the telco appears to have been unable to utilize whatever was given to them.

What is more interesting is that data that shows the market share per operator in Kenya, some of the licensed operators are nowhere to be seen.

What about the mobile subscription per operator?

Something needs to be done.