[kictanet] Telcos CEOs on the spot in push to declare Safaricom dominant

Mon Jul 30 20:46:06 EAT 2018

Geoffrey

We are in agreement that Regulator needs to act. How is the issue.
Dominance. I don't buy that story. We can agree to disagree.. :-)

*Ali Hussein*

*Principal*

*AHK & 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
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organizations that I work with.

On Mon, Jul 30, 2018 at 8:39 PM, Geoffrey Gitau via kictanet <
kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:

> @Ali
> Whereas I agree that market driven equilibrium is the ideal, markets at
> times suffer imperfections. This is where a regulator comes to affirm some
> intermediate intervention. We as techo experts for a fact are not experts
> in this. Economist must come in to evaluate options and outcomes and not a
> knee jack reaction. The objective of dominance correction intervention is
> to ensure an upstanding (read up walking) sector. See it like someone with
> two legs if one leg sucks out over 50% strength disequilibrium occurs and
> walking is by limping or artificial support. That's how collectively all
> the competitors of Safaricom are - limping and on stilts. The regulator is
> obligated to act and no excuse. The question is how and not whether.
>
> Rgds
>
> Dr Kamau
> ICT entrepreneurship expert
>
> On Mon, 30 Jul 2018, 20:13 Ali Hussein via kictanet, <
> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>
>> @Walu
>>
>> I was baiting you..and you fell for it.. LOL
>> !
>>
>> Let me first address the issue of Mpesa and
>> the
>> allegations that it is a Platform. I recommend the book *Platform
>> Revolution
>> <https://www.amazon.com/Platform-Revolution-Networked-Transforming-Economyand-ebook/dp/B00ZAT8VS4>*
>> by Geoffrey Parker, Marshall Van Alsytne and Sangeet Paul Choudrey.
>>
>> According to Tech blogger Jonathan Clarks
>> <http://jonathanclarks.blogspot.de/2009/06/what-is-difference-between-platform-and.html>,
>> “Platforms are structures that allow multiple products to be built within
>> the same technical framework. Companies invest in platforms in the hope
>> that future products can be developed faster and cheaper, than if they
>> built them stand-alone. Today it is much more important to think of a
>> platform as a business framework. By this I mean a framework that allows
>> multiple business models to be built and supported. For instance, Amazon is
>> an online retail framework. Amazon started by selling books. Over time they
>> have expanded to selling all sorts of other things. Apple iTunes started by
>> selling tracks and now uses the same framework to sell videos.”
>>
>> So back to my issue of whether M-Pesa is a Platform. M-Pesa wasn't built
>> from the ground up to be a Platform. To claim that M-Pesa is a Platform is
>> like saying that a VW Kombi
>> <https://www.google.com/search?q=VW+KOMBI&rlz=1C5CHFA_enKE800KE800&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=oebAUZqbFmXsSM%252Ch9Cx7Tj_4hnt2M%252C_&usg=__V7SZyrLUT-w4mOWCnPSbExol-8A%3D&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjf2O6docfcAhXCxoUKHZuTCXIQ_h0wFXoECAoQCA&biw=1280&bih=726#imgrc=oebAUZqbFmXsSM:>is
>> a Toyota VX  <https://www.toyota.com/landcruiser/> just because some Jua
>> Kali mechanic decided to put a 5.7-Liter DOHC 32-Valve V8 with Dual
>> Independent Variable Valve Timing with intelligence (VVT-i); 381 hp @ 5600
>> rpm; 401 lb.-ft. @ 3600 rpm into the Kombi - #JustSaying.. :-) With all due
>> respect to Safaricom of course..
>>
>>
>> Platforms are an amazing thing to behold. Apple IOS is a Platform. The
>> Amazon Ecosystem is a Platform. Google's Android is a Platform. Facebook is
>> a Platform. You get my point.
>>
>> We spend alot of time bashing Safaricom. And it is as it should be since
>> they are the Big Boys/Girls in our part of the wood
>> s
>> ..But Safaricom has so many problems..I wish we can exploit them instead
>> of wasting so much energy on them.. The world is full of companies that
>> Governments were unable to break up
>> but the market took care of that.. The regulatory landscape is not
>> optimal for sure..and that can be worked on..But we also need to look
>> inwards..Barclays is already taking steps with Timiza, so is HF..And of
>> course there is Equity..The fact is this - We are all fighting for the 80%
>> of the 10% market Safaricom has in mobile money..#GoFigure
>>
>>
>> I agree with you that the Regulator needs to get up to speed with the new
>> reality. However it's not that simple. Remember the tussle between the CA
>> (Communications Authority) and CAK (Competitions Authority of Kenya) on the
>> Market Study? Add to this mix the CMA (Capital Markets Authority) and CBK
>> (Central Bank of Kenya) to get an idea of how tough regulation is today. At
>> the height of the dominance conversation last year I attempted to make a
>> sense of it. See link below:-
>>
>>
>> Dominance, Regulation and the New Strategic Imperatives
>> <https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/dominance-regulation-new-strategic-imperatives-ali-hussein-kassim/>
>>
>>
>> Here's a fact that most of us don't want to come to terms with. As untidy
>> as free markets are, they are more efficient than Governments. Chairman
>> William Kisang of the House Committee on Communication, Information and
>> Innovation is my hero for seeing off this continuous rant on Dominance. Now
>> he must take it one step further and create a Super Regulator (It can be
>> that the different regulators and arms of government create a working
>> committee that meets regularly and share notes to ensure they are on the
>> same page when it comes to Innovation and New Business Models that
>> transcend industries.
>>
>>
>> We must move forward. Safaricom's 'dominance' will be taken care of by
>> the Market. With a little help from a forward looking regulator of
>> course..I'm willing to bet my next year's salary on it. :-)
>>
>>
>> Regards
>>
>>
>> *Ali Hussein*
>> *Principal*
>> *AHK & Associates*
>> +254 0713 601113
>>
>> Twitter: @AliHKassim
>>
>> Skype: abu-jomo
>>
>> LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
>>
>> "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a
>> habit."  ~ Aristotle
>>
>>
>> Sent from my iPad
>>
>> On 30 Jul 2018, at 6:35 PM, Walubengo J <jwalu at yahoo.com> wrote:
>>
>> @Ali, am with Eng Kariuki on this one ;-)
>>
>> Indeed we are in the age of platforms (read MPESA as an example).  And
>> yes we can't blame Safcom for milking MPESA to the hilt (eg. most
>> government service mobile money payments have a preferred providers ;-).
>>
>> I would rather blame the regulator for not seeing this coming, and when
>> they finally saw it, they dilly dallied to intervene (remember 2year market
>> study?)  Furthermore, previous thinking that platforms are sacred corporate
>> jewels not to be touched or  that  all markets will eventually self-correct
>> have been proved wrong elsewhere with FB, Google, etc coming under heavy
>> 'regulatory fire' in the recent past.
>>
>> I dont claim to have the answer to Safcom dominance, but I can claim very
>> strongly that the market forces will never self-correct the dominant
>> position that Safcom continues to enjoy.
>>
>> Is dominance  a good thing? Yes, for Safcom.  Is it a bad thing?  Yes,
>> for a country that may realize that they cannot transmit election results
>> simply because the competing providers dont have presence in some areas
>> under their zones. Or that you can't access internet or send mobile money
>> coz Safcom network sneezed for an hour or two as it happened a week ago.
>>
>> I have said this before, the dominance conversation must be rise above
>> competition issues and begin to be interrogated at the level of national
>> security.  If Safcom beats competition to pulp, it is good for its
>> shareholders (me with my very small shares  included), BUT it is bad thing
>> for the country that may discover they have no commensurate alternatives.
>>
>> That said, I dont believe baby sitting competition to beat Safcom is the
>> answer either.
>>
>> Only a new innovation, perhaps the next 'MPESA on a Blockchain' sort of
>> thing will be able to give  Safcom the challenge it deserves.
>>
>> walu.
>>
>> On Monday, July 30, 2018, 6:00:10 PM GMT+3, Admin CampusCiti via kictanet
>> <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>>
>>
>> John
>>
>> Fortunately I’m not a graduate of Telecommunications Law.. So I can see
>> clearly.. #JustSaying..
>>
>> I have always advocated for a review of the Framework on competition in
>> not just the Telco sector but most sectors. The Age of Platforms Is here my
>> brother. And we ignore it or focus on old school models of competition at
>> our own risk. The Government is a very inefficient way to correct market
>> conditions. Look at what is happening the world over.
>>
>> Why don’t we go ahead and also declare Uber dominant? Let’s engage on
>> this issue and not shoot from the hip. Chairman Kisang is my hero. He must
>> have been smoking the right thing that morning. :-)
>>
>> *Ali Hussein*
>>
>> +254 0713 601113
>>
>> Twitter: @AliHKassim
>>
>> Skype: abu-jomo
>>
>> LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
>> <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim>
>>
>> Blog: www.alyhussein.com
>>
>> "Discovery consists in seeing what everyone else has seen and thinking
>> what no one else has thought".  ~ Albert Szent-Györgyi
>>
>> Sent from my iPad
>>
>> On 30 Jul 2018, at 5:37 PM, John Kariuki via kictanet <
>> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>>
>> Listers, Ali.
>> It is a fact that  "In certain telecommunications market segments in
>> Kenya, SAFARICOM is dominant. Any graduate of telecommunications law will
>> confirm that. It has nothing to do with punishing success or innovation. It
>> is a matter of telecommunications and competition laws. If it was in UK or
>> EU I have no doubt that the issue would not have dragged this long.
>> Remember we also have the 'small problem' of Data Protection which has
>> dragged for at least 10 years. Just to repeat what one consultant told my
>> then bosses many years ago and I quote  "The fact that you refuse to see a
>> problem does not mean that it does not exist". If only we had listened!
>>
>>
>> Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android
>> <https://go.onelink.me/107872968?pid=InProduct&c=Global_Internal_YGrowth_AndroidEmailSig__AndroidUsers&af_wl=ym&af_sub1=Internal&af_sub2=Global_YGrowth&af_sub3=EmailSignature>
>>
>> On Mon, Jul 30, 2018 at 14:37, Barrack Otieno via kictanet
>> <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
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>> 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.
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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,
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>
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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.
>
>
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