[kictanet] ³Talk to Safaricom² Responses to Day 1 Questions - Request to USF/CA and Telcos

Wed Feb 15 18:41:22 EAT 2017

Hi Ali,

Your questions are valid. However, note that the Authority operates within the provisions of the law.  The KICA Section 102A and as amended in 2013 stipulates the mode of appointment of members of the Universal Advisory Council (USAC) by the Cabinet Secretary, MOICT.  To change and have the desired representation of telcos or other groups would require a change in law for that to be effected.

On the utilization of the fund, it is worth noting that the law established the Universal Service Fund in 2009 but contributions to the Fund began in 2013/14 financial year. In 2015, the Authority had intended to implement projects based on 2010 ICT Access Gaps study but this idea was not supported by operators who are the main contributors to the Fund. It was mutually agreed  that the USF projects will only be implemented after another ICT Access Gaps study. This is the study  that was completed in April 2016.  Suffice to say, the study was done in consultation with all the operators, considering that the request for this study was also agreed upon following the request by the operators.  The implementation of the fund is guided by the study.  At the onset, the study report recommended the implementation of the 2G-voice infrastructure project in 202 sub-locations and education broadband connectivity to 896 secondary schools. A budget of Ksh 1 billion was allocated, even though the 78 ( the bids received) out of the expected 202 actually consumed 1.5billion .

 However, it is important to note that the Universal Service Fund cuts across the whole communication sector and is expected to support other initiatives including postal and broadcasting services, local content development, ICT capacity building and innovations. For this reasons the Fund cannot allocate all the money for telecommunications.  In addition, in as much as Ksh 1 billion was allocated for the voice project, the maximum subsidy required for this project is about Ksh 2.4 billion  to cover all the 202 sub-locations. We allocated Ksh 1 billion based on absorptive capacity considering that all the USF projects were expected to commence in the third quarter of the financial year.

You will also recall that in a previous posting, I mentioned that the study deliverables included an online ICT Gaps geo-portal. The Geographic Information Systems (GIS) portal is one-stop online interactive platform created by the Communications Authority of Kenya to provide a view of the different layers of ICT coverage in Kenya. The Geo-Portal will be updated on a regular basis and will assist the Authority in the identification of the gaps for each service area by giving GPS coordinates for selected Universal Service clusters (access gaps) and required areas of intervention. The portal will also be used to determine the extent of communication coverage and the access levels by citizens. The map has been populated with different information layers such as Telecom (3G and 2G coverage from the 3 operators), postal network, broadcasting, Fibre routes, transportation, administrative boundaries, education health facilities, and electricity networks.  The link is available on the website but for your ease, you can click here to access it.http://kenyageoportal.ca.go.ke/ca_public/flash/?

Hope this suffices your enquiry Ali.

Regards,

Rachel

From: kictanet <kictanet-bounces+alwala=ca.go.ke at lists.kictanet.or.ke<mailto:kictanet-bounces+alwala=ca.go.ke at lists.kictanet.or.ke>> on behalf of KICTAnet Discussions <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke<mailto:kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>>
Reply-To: KICTAnet Discussions <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke<mailto:kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>>
Date: Wednesday, February 15, 2017 at 7:01 AM
To: Rachel <alwala at ca.go.ke<mailto:alwala at ca.go.ke>>
Cc: Ali Hussein <ali at hussein.me.ke<mailto:ali at hussein.me.ke>>
Subject: [kictanet] “Talk to Safaricom” Responses to Day 1 Questions - Request to USF/CA and Telcos

Dear Rachel

Further to Steve's response on the issue of USF utilization and collaboration with Telcos I have some queries:-

According to Steve, and I quote:-

1. 
As the largest contributors to the USF Fund, telecommunication service providers including Safaricom do not have a say as to how the funds are utilised – yet we have the best information as to the constraints that impede rollout of network in marginal areas and the subsidy from the USF facilitates in closing the capital challenge.

In fact, telecommunications providers had requested for representation in the USAC and had received promises that this would be done, but unfortunately the council does not have any operator representation.

End quote.

It would be great for us to understand the rationale against providing the Telcos representation on the USAC. I would also like to request the community to be made to understand why the fund is still under-utilised. As per your last responses on the list you mentioned that out of 4.8b the fund had only utilised 1.5b? yet large swathes of counties are still going without 3G connectivity or in some cases no connectivity at all.

2. With the support of the Telcos could we map out using InfoGraphics the areas that need most attention in the country?

Ali Hussein

Principal

Hussein & Associates

Tel: +254 713 601113

Twitter: @AliHKassim

Skype: abu-jomo

LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim<http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim>

13th Floor , Delta Towers, Oracle Wing,

Chiromo Road, Westlands,

Nairobi, Kenya.

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.

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