[kictanet] CCK to renew Safaricom's licence

Tue Jul 30 14:44:42 EAT 2013

Walu,

Well presented!

We should be worried, VERY worried, when the “referee” begins to fear the “player”!!

Poor QoS is acknowledged, but NO tangible action!

I feel that CCK is “skirting around the problem”!!

Edith

From: Walubengo J [mailto:jwalu at yahoo.com]
Sent: July 30, 2013 2:37 PM
To: Edith Adera
Cc: Consumer and Public Affairs; KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions
Subject: Re: [kictanet] CCK to renew Safaricom's licence

@Edith,

I am not a regulator and neither do I intend to shield  Wambua/CCK from your question.  But I can tell you one way to deal with poor service is to provide competition which I believe CCK has done very well.

(Un?)Fortunately through sheer hard work (or otherwise?) Safcom has managed to get 78% market share in the data market. So they are for all purposes and intent a monopoly in that space.   Monopolies by nature tend to be dictate alot of things - including how to make more money within the shortest time and using the lowest effort (squeezed resources). Capitalist call this efficiency, but Users reflect it as poor quality :-)

Monopolies as you know are a hard nut to crack (ask Microsoft, Google, AT&T and others).  With all due respect, I highly doubt that CCK can crack Safaricom in its own..it might have to explore legal avenues available in the Competition laws.  Sponsor one Mutoro, Omutatah et. al. to fundamentally break up the giant that Safaricom has become.

And I say this with a heavy heart since I am both a (not-so-big) Safaricom  shareholder and 12year old subscriber/customer and I have no clue what  or how such a break-up would play out. Choices have consequences....

walu.

________________________________
From: Edith Adera <eadera at idrc.ca<mailto:eadera at idrc.ca>>
To: jwalu at yahoo.com<mailto:jwalu at yahoo.com>
Cc: Consumer and Public Affairs <CPA at cck.go.ke<mailto:CPA at cck.go.ke>>; KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke<mailto:kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>>
Sent: Tuesday, July 30, 2013 11:28 AM
Subject: Re: [kictanet] CCK to renew Safaricom's licence

Wambua,

This is a very “generic” response!

Am I right in reading from your email that NOTHING much is done for poor QoS until licenses are up for renewal? What SPECIFIC actions have been taken to-date? When should we expect better QoS before June 2014?

OR are we dealing with a case of “regulatory capture”?

Edith

From: Wambua, Christopher [mailto:Wambua at cck.go.ke]<mailto:[mailto:Wambua at cck.go.ke]>
Sent: July 29, 2013 5:39 PM
To: Edith Adera
Cc: Consumer and Public Affairs; KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions
Subject: RE: [kictanet] CCK to renew Safaricom's licence
Importance: High

Edith/Listers

One of the responsibilities of CCK is to protect the interests of consumers, including against poor quality of service. To this end, CCK independently monitors the QoS on annual basis to determine whether licensees meet the minimum set parameters or standards.  Each year, we publish the performance of the four mobile operators in respect to QoS to empower consumers make informed choices in the market.  We also levy penalties on non-compliant licensees (i.e. those that do not meet the set standards).  The penalties stipulated in the Kenya Information and Communications Act, CAP 411A of Kshs500,000, are however too low and do not serve as an adequate deterrent. To address this, the penalties have been enhanced in the proposed Kenya Information and Communications (Amendment) Bill. CCK is also enhancing its monitoring  capabilities to be able to process and publish the performance results more frequently for public information and as a way of encouraging service providers to provide quality services.

The monitoring results also assist licensees to identify areas of non-compliance for purposes of improvement.  Arising from our concern over QoS performance, CCK has requested non-compliant licensees to submit action plans on how they intend to improve on QoS.

Let me also add that QoS is a major consideration in the renewal of  licences for the mobile operators and other service providers.  The renewal of the Safaricom licence is due in June 2014.  CCK is looking forward to enhancing the licence conditions in respect to QoS to make ensure that consumers get value for their money.

Best regards,

Christopher Wambua
Manager – Communications
Consumer and Public Affairs Department
Communications Commission of Kenya
P.O. Box 14448 NAIROBI 00800
Tel: +254 20 4242209
info at cck.go.ke<mailto:info at cck.go.ke>
www.cck.go.ke<http://www.cck.go.ke/>

From: Edith Adera [mailto:eadera at idrc.ca]<mailto:[mailto:eadera at idrc.ca]>
Sent: Monday, July 29, 2013 4:43 PM
To: Wambua, Christopher
Cc: Consumer and Public Affairs; KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions
Subject: RE: [kictanet] CCK to renew Safaricom's licence

Dear Wambua,

Thanks for bringing this issue to our attention. Actually, 2 weeks ago an email I had composed for the list got deleted before I could deliver it…then I got swamped!

The email was about the “poor quality of service”  from Safaricom – too many dropped calls, uncompleted calls, undelivered sms”, hanging sms” etc.  and asking the BIG QUESTION: “WHAT IS CCK DOING ABOUT THIS UNACCEPTABLY LOW QUALITY OF SERVICE?”

I see you have suggested that renewal of license is subject to “ …..meeting set minimum quality of service standards by June 2014.”

Why by June 2014?

We want good service NOW!

Can CCK address this now and get back to us telling us what will be done now and NOT June 2014?

Concerned Edith

From: kictanet [mailto:kictanet-bounces+eadera=idrc.ca at lists.kictanet.or.ke]<mailto:[mailto:kictanet-bounces+eadera=idrc.ca at lists.kictanet.or.ke]> On Behalf Of Wambua, Christopher
Sent: July 26, 2013 4:48 PM
To: Edith Adera
Cc: Consumer and Public Affairs; KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions
Subject: [kictanet] CCK to renew Safaricom's licence
Importance: High

Listers,

CCK to renew Safaricom’s licence

Kenya’s largest mobile operator – Safaricom – will pay Kshs2.36billion (US$27million) for renewal of its operating licence for a further term of 10 years.

CCK today announced that the renewal of Safaricom’s licence would depend on the operator paying the renewal fee upfront and meeting the set minimum quality of service standards by June 2014. Safaricom’s initial licence term of 15 years is set to expire on 30th June 2014 but has a provision for a possible renewal for a further term of 10 years.

Addressing the media at the CCK offices, CCK Director General Mr. Francis Wangusi said the renewed Safaricom licence would come with a set of new licence terms and conditions negotiated between the regulator and the mobile operator.

The licence renewal fee of US$27 million is based on the bid price offered for the third GSM mobile licence by the latest entrant to the mobile telecoms market in Kenya -Econet Wireless Kenya Ltd (now Essar Telecom Kenya Ltd).

The Director General said that whereas Safaricom has significantly contributed to the economy, developed innovative products and services and met most its licence obligations, the mobile operator needs to up its game in regard to meeting the set quality of service standards.

‘‘We have  considered the fact that whereas Safaricom has met most of its licence obligations, its continued failure to meet the set Quality of Service standards remains a concern that needs to be addressed,’’ said Mr.  Wangusi.

Mr. Wangusi further said the three other mobile operators would pay the same amount for renewal of their licences for a further term of 10 year to ensure parity and a level playing ground for all service providers in the sector.

At the sametime, the Director General said the spectrum assigned to the four mobile operators will be subjected to an auction after the expiry of the 10-year renewal term. ,
The full statement of the Director General is available on the CCK website at http://www.cck.go.ke/news/speeches/2013/Press_statement__Safaricom_licence.pdf

Wambua

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