[kictanet] Safaricom accused of predatory pricing offers to settle. Will interoperability drive an mCommerce Revolution?

[Ali Hussein]

Listers

As Safaricom is in the news again accused of abusing its market power, this time in the mobile money space I think we should now start asking the tough questions:-

Should Regulators force interoperability in the Mobile Money & Banking space? 

Will it spur more usage beyond the normal money transfer services towards a truly seamless and well oiled mcommerce revolution? 

What are the implications of this if at all the Regulator has the foresight and muscle to force this?

How about IP Laws? Will this be unfair to Safaricom seeing as it is that they built this dominant position through sheer hard work and seamless execution of strategy? Or is this a mute point since we are now discussing a greater good beyond one company?

http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Corporate-News/Safaricom-calls-M-Pesa-war-truce/-/539550/2082040/-/item/0/-/awsfy1/-/index.html

Safaricom is obviously using the Network Effect to the max and it is as it should. One begs the question however whether it was wise and prudent to follow this strategy to muzzle the competition? In some case its costs more than three times to cross use the Mpesa platform to any of the other mobile money services. For how much longer should the regulator allow this anti-competitive practice to continue unabated?
 
Ali Hussein

+254 0770 906375 / 0713 601113

"I fear the day technology will surpass human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots".  ~ Albert Einstein

Sent from my iPad
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