[kictanet] Fate of NOFBI - Investors attracted by Telkom Kenya’s Sh13bn real estate

Thu Oct 1 14:49:06 EAT 2015

I was tempted to make that proposal ,but we might overstretch ICTA, if
we have Kenya Pipeline, KETRACO, Kengen and Kenya Power why not
KENOFBI :-) ?

Regards

On 10/1/15, Ali Hussein <ali at hussein.me.ke> wrote:
> How about expanding the ICTA mandate? Those boys and girls are doing some
> serious stuff without much fanfare.
>
> I say pull a surprise and get on with it. How about that?
>
> Thanks & Regards
>
> Ali Hussein
> ali at hussein.me.ke
>
> +254 713 601113
> Twitter: @AliHKassim
> Skype: Abu-Jomo
> LinkedIn: http//ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
> Blog: www.alyhussein.com
>
>> On Oct 1, 2015, at 2:15 PM, Barrack Otieno via kictanet
>> <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>>
>> or better still we could have it as a Parastatal /Authority with clear
>> performance parameters.
>>
>> Best Regards
>>
>> On 10/1/15, Mwendwa Kivuva <lordmwesh at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> Ali, Barrack, can't we just give this NOFBI to Safaricom, Zuku or
>>> Equitel
>>> to manage? I'm certain one if these entities can do a great job in
>>> proper
>>> utilisation of the resource. I'm sure Kenyans want better service,
>>> affordable broadband without any care who is implementing. Last mile has
>>> been a challenge and the government has only concentrated on district
>>> headquarters.
>>>
>>> And the USF...  We have made our case again and again on it's under
>>> utilisation or even non implementation. Probably we need to sue the USF
>>> board for shortchanging the under-served. Apart from two paragraphs they
>>> include on the annual CA reports, the USF board  stand accused of poor
>>> public engagement.
>>>
>>> Regards.
>>>
>>> NB: Equitel is an MVNO but it's likely they can manage NOFBI better than
>>> the moribund tax fleecing leech that is Telkom.
>>>
>>> On Sep 29, 2015 8:12 PM, "Barrack Otieno via kictanet" <
>>> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Very valid question @ Kivuva. The role of NOFBI in facilitating last
>>>> mile connectivity cannot be understated.Governors are right when they
>>>> say e-procurement and e-government cannot work in areas without
>>>> connectivity, this are misnomers that have to be dealt with urgently.
>>>> It is good to note the gains we have made and awards received in ICT
>>>> but remain alive to the fact that Nairobi is not Kenya and Kenya is
>>>> not Nairobi, every part of this country deserves to be connected
>>>> through the National Backbone and the same should be treated as
>>>> Critical Infrastructure.Whats the point of developing the Critical
>>>> Infrastructure Bill when we have little or not control over the same ?
>>>>
>>>> Regards
>>>>
>>>> On 9/29/15, Ali Hussein via kictanet <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
>>> wrote:
>>>>> Mwendwa
>>>>>
>>>>> During the EAIGF I boldly declared (Brian Longwe’s words, not mine!
>>>>> :-)
>>> )
>>>>> that the Universal Access Fund in all East African countries are at
>>>>> best
>>>>> Moribund. I’m yet to be proven wrong.
>>>>>
>>>>> This is a great opportunity to revive them.. The NOFBI project will
>>>>> otherwise be a white elephant. More’s the pity..
>>>>>
>>>>> Thanks & Regards
>>>>>
>>>>> Ali Hussein
>>>>> ali at hussein.me.ke
>>>>>
>>>>> +254 713 601113
>>>>> Twitter: @AliHKassim
>>>>> Skype: Abu-Jomo
>>>>> LinkedIn: http//ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
>>>>> Blog: www.alyhussein.com
>>>>>
>>>>>> On Sep 29, 2015, at 11:22 AM, Mwendwa Kivuva via kictanet
>>>>>> <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> As Telkom Kenya through Orange auction off public resources, can we
>>> have
>>>>>> NOFBI moved from the control of this dinosaur? A lot of taxpayers
>>>>>> money
>>>>>> has gone into roll-out of NOFBI in the recent past. NOFBI has also
>>>>>> been
>>>>>> identified as a driver for Vision 2030 in the ICT masterplan.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>> http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Corporate-News/Investors-attracted-by-Telkom-Kenya-real-estate/-/539550/2889436/-/20jgv9/-/index.html
>>>>>> <
>>> http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Corporate-News/Investors-attracted-by-Telkom-Kenya-real-estate/-/539550/2889436/-/20jgv9/-/index.html
>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Local and foreign firms fighting to take over French firm Orange’s
>>> stake
>>>>>> in Telkom Kenya are mainly eyeing the company’s Sh13 billion real
>>> estate
>>>>>> assets, a valuation report shows.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Private equity firm Helios and UK’s British Telecom make the list of
>>>>>> investors who have recently expressed interest
>>>>>> <
>>> http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Corporate-News/Helios-offers-to-buy-French-firm-stake-in-Telkom-Kenya/-/539550/2853620/-/bd661y/-/index.html
>>>>
>>>>>> in buying Orange’s 70 per cent stake in the Kenyan telecoms
>>> operator.The
>>>>>> report, which Orange prepared ahead of failed negotiations to sell
>>>>>> the
>>>>>> stake to Nigerian investors, shows that land, together with frequency
>>>>>> spectrums and a vast fibre optic cables network, top the list of
>>>>>> assets
>>>>>> that the French firm is using to entice suitors as it prepares to
>>>>>> exit
>>> the
>>>>>> Kenyan market.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> The Treasury, which owns a minority 30 per cent of Telkom on behalf
>>>>>> of
>>> the
>>>>>> public and will be co-owner with the new shareholders, has been
>>> actively
>>>>>> involved in the negotiations.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Telkom’s vast real estate wealth has never been made public and the
>>>>>> valuation, which was done nearly two years ago, shows that the firm
>>>>>> has
>>>>>> 335 properties priced at Sh9.4 billion.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> The majority of the pieces of land have buildings that host telephone
>>>>>> switches, repeaters or microwaves.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> The Investors Information report separately lists Telkom as owning
>>>>>> 39.1
>>>>>> hectares of land and real estate properties along Nairobi’s Ngong
>>>>>> Road
>>>>>> with 11 residential buildings, a sports club and offices all valued
>>>>>> at
>>>>>> approximately Sh4 billion.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Telkom owns 23 per cent stake in TEAMs, a 5,000-kilometre undersea
>>> fibre
>>>>>> optic cable that links Kenya to the global internet superhighway
>>> through
>>>>>> Fujairah in the UAE.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> The company, which was sold to French firm Orange in 2007 at Sh27
>>> billion,
>>>>>> also has a 10 per cent stake in another undersea optic cable, LION2,
>>>>>> a
>>>>>> 2,700-kilometre cable that connects Kenya to the global network
>>>>>> through
>>>>>> Mayotte in Mauritius, and an eight per cent stake in the East Africa
>>>>>> Submarine System cable.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Telkom operates 3G, CDMA, GSM and Wimax frequencies that are critical
>>> to
>>>>>> the rollout of the increasingly important data services as the voice
>>>>>> market continues to shrink.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> People familiar with the ongoing buyout talks said that while real
>>> estate
>>>>>> properties and the frequencies have become key selling points for
>>> Telkom,
>>>>>> potential buyers have been going deeper and scrutinising how much of
>>> the
>>>>>> assets are not tied to the company’s heavy debt load. There has also
>>> been
>>>>>> interest in the technology Telkom is running.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> “Telkom Kenya has a rich mix of frequency spectrums and assets
>>> portfolio
>>>>>> that would attract any potential investor but sound investment
>>>>>> decision
>>>>>> goes beyond these,” our source said, adding that potential investors
>>> are
>>>>>> looking at things such as the number of active sites the company has,
>>>>>> revenue streams, and control of revenue leakages such as fraud on
>>>>>> fixed
>>>>>> lines.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Curiously, the investor report does not include Telkom’s debt but
>>>>>> other
>>>>>> reports have shown that by August 31, 2014, its debt to equity ratio
>>> stood
>>>>>> at 16 – a figure that is way above the statutory limits.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> To compound matters, the two shareholders are yet to agree on how to
>>>>>> handle a Sh1.2 billion award that the High Court gave former
>>>>>> employees
>>> who
>>>>>> were retrenched in 2006.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Telkom also manages the National Optic Fibre Backbone (Nofbi), an
>>> inland
>>>>>> fibre optic cable network that runs across the district/county on
>>> behalf
>>>>>> of the government.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> ______________________
>>>>>> 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
>>>>>>
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>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Barrack O. Otieno
>>>> +254721325277
>>>> +254-20-2498789
>>>> Skype: barrack.otieno
>>>> http://www.otienobarrack.me.ke/
>>>>
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>>>> 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
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>>> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy,
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>>
>>
>> --
>> Barrack O. Otieno
>> +254721325277
>> +254-20-2498789
>> Skype: barrack.otieno
>> http://www.otienobarrack.me.ke/
>>
>> _______________________________________________
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>> Unsubscribe or change your options at
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>>
>> 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.
>
>

-- 
Barrack O. Otieno
+254721325277
+254-20-2498789
Skype: barrack.otieno
http://www.otienobarrack.me.ke/