[kictanet] Airtel writes to regulators over Safaricom's market share

Fri Jan 23 15:28:45 EAT 2015

Lets not pretend that Safaricom is not dominant and is not exploiting its
position. Yes they got there because they responded to the market and
frankly offer better service compared to the rest.

This does not mean that they should now be allowed to do anything they want
because they have a very Kenyan sounding name and they have nice adverts.
Even AT&T was broken up and so was Microsoft. They were dominant and got
there through innovation and hard work. But the market is bigger than one
company.

There is nothing free about a market where one provider controls 80% or is
it 70% of the market.

But then we shouldn't forget that the Government is one of its biggest
shareholders and so the dominance may not be such a bad thing after-all.

On Fri, Jan 23, 2015 at 2:34 PM, Ali Hussein via kictanet <
kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:

> Dennis
>
> My point exactly. We need to stop this Safaricom bashing lest we forget we
> are in a free market.
>
> Microsoft was once dominant. So is Google today. In search and Mobile
> Operating Systems.
>
> Markets correct themselves. And faster than a New York Minute!
>
> Customers can do what the CA can't do. Vote with their wallets. This is
> not to say that regulation is a bad thing. It's not. Declaring Safaricom
> dominant is not a bad thing. But let's be careful with the punitive
> measures.
>
> Even China has recognized that Communism only works when it's paid for by
> Capitalism.
>
> *Ali Hussein*
>
> +254 770 906375 / 0713 601113
>
> Twitter: @AliHKassim
>
> Skype: abu-jomo
>
> LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
> <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim>
>
> Blog: www.alyhussein.com
>
> "I fear the day technology will surpass human interaction. The world will
> have a generation of idiots".  ~ Albert Einstein
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
> On Jan 23, 2015, at 2:22 PM, Dennis Kioko via kictanet <
> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>
> Is there anything that CA can do for service providers that are having
> challenges:
>
>    - Communicating what they offer to the public and what differentiates
>    them from their competitors
>    - Coming up with relevant services rather than copy-paste offerings
>
> Should an athlete ask an athlete's body to restrain one of the runners for
> winning too many races?
>
> However, the athlete's body should be careful not to be misled by the
> successful athlete in a such manner they end up giving this athlete
> preferential treatment.
>
> On Fri Jan 23 2015 at 10:35:50 Mwendwa Kivuva via kictanet <
> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>
>> Good point Brian. It is without doubt Safaricom a.k.a Queen bee is
>> OVER-EXPLOITING the market.
>>
>> Somebody just has to look at their profits in a country whose per capita
>> is only $2000. Their data prices especially, and money transfer cost are
>> immoral for lack of a better word.
>>
>> ______________________
>> Mwendwa Kivuva, Nairobi, Kenya
>>
>> "There are some men who lift the age they inhabit, till all men walk on
>> higher ground in that lifetime." - Maxwell Anderson
>>
>>
>> On 22 January 2015 at 19:34, Brian Munyao Longwe via kictanet <
>> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>>
>>> Actually, this is quite a serious issue, it has been proven the world
>>> over that an operator with significant market power (SMP) needs strong
>>> regulatory measures to ensure that they do not over exploit the market, and
>>> more importantly quench healthy competition...
>>>
>>>
>>> On Tuesday, January 20, 2015, Edith Adera via kictanet <
>>> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>>>
>>>>  Interesting indeed!
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>  Need to study any "anti-competitive" behaviour and act....question
>>>> is, will the regulator(s) act? Safaricom has its owners.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>  Consumer behavior also has a key role to play...I've argued that for
>>>> years and if memory serves, Michael Joseph once said "Kenyans have peculiar
>>>> habits". These habits play a BIG role in keeping the BIG player dominant!
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>  Edith
>>>>  ------------------------------
>>>> *From:* kictanet <kictanet-bounces+eadera=idrc.ca at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
>>>> on behalf of Ali Hussein via kictanet <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
>>>> *Sent:* Monday, January 19, 2015 11:53 PM
>>>> *To:* Edith Adera
>>>> *Subject:* [kictanet] Airtel writes to regulators over Safaricom's
>>>> market share
>>>>
>>>>   Listers
>>>>
>>>>  This is interesting.
>>>>
>>>>  Airtel Kenya has written to Communications Authority of Kenya (CA)
>>>> and Competitions Authority of Kenya (CAK) asking that Safaricom be declared
>>>> a dominant player in the market. Airtel Kenya, which is targeting a bigger
>>>> share of the country’s voice, SMS, data and mobile-money transfer business,
>>>> claims Safaricom has been using its dominance to prevent others from
>>>> growing their business. It is asking the two regulators to intervene and
>>>> stop the telecommunications sector’s slide into a monopoly where the market
>>>> leader, allegedly has freedom to do whatever it wishes.
>>>>
>>>> Read more at:
>>>> http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/business/article/2000148531/airtel-writes-to-regulators-over-safaricom-s-market-share
>>>>
>>>>  I'm curious as to what remedies there are in the act to reverse
>>>> safaricom's dominance.
>>>>
>>>>    *Ali Hussein*
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Tel: +254 770 906375/ 713 601113
>>>>
>>>> Twitter: @AliHKassim
>>>>
>>>> Skype: abu-jomo
>>>>
>>>> LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
>>>> <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim>
>>>>
>>>> Blog: www.alyhussein.com
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are purely
>>>> mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the
>>>> organizations that I work with.
>>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> kictanet mailing list
>>> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke
>>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
>>>
>>> Unsubscribe or change your options at
>>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/kivuva%40transworldafrica.com
>>
>>
>>>
>>> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform
>>> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
>>> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
>>> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>>>
>>> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
>>> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth,
>>> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do
>>> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
>>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> kictanet mailing list
>> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke
>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
>>
>> Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/
>> mailman/options/kictanet/dmbuvi%40gmail.com
>>
>> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform
>> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
>> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
>> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>>
>> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
>> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth,
>> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do
>> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
>
> _______________________________________________
> kictanet mailing list
> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke
> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
>
> Unsubscribe or change your options at
> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/info%40alyhussein.com
>
> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform
> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>
> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth,
> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do
> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> kictanet mailing list
> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke
> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
>
> Unsubscribe or change your options at
> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/mwangy%40gmail.com
>
> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform
> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>
> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth,
> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do
> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
>

-- 
Regards,

Mark Mwangi

markmwangi.me.ke
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/pipermail/kictanet/attachments/20150123/2c540b74/attachment.htm>