[kictanet] Safaricom battling pricing power with CA

Mon Jan 31 13:17:34 EAT 2022

@Ali Hussein <ahussein at kictanet.or.ke>
on this matter, I will cast my lot with the Communications Authority. My
thoughts are CA has public interest at heart whereas Telcos have commercial
interest. I also think it is good the matter is being handled out of court.
We must explore alternative dispute resolution mechanisms as a country that
upholds multistakeholder principles. Spectrum as a resource should be
availed for all citizens affordably, the Citizen must come first after
which financial considerations can follow.

Thank you

Best Regards

On Tue, Jan 25, 2022 at 9:22 AM Hezron Gikanga via KICTANet <
kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:

> Ali & everyone else, thanks for the insights, and illuminating questions.
>
> My perspective below (+disclosures).
>
> Hez Gikang’a
>
>
>
> *From: *KICTANet <kictanet-bounces+hezron.gikanga=
> thearcrayon.com at lists.kictanet.or.ke> on behalf of Ali Hussein via
> KICTANet <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
> *Reply to: *Kenya's premier ICT Policy engagement platform <
> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
> *Date: *Tuesday, 25 January 2022 at 08:11
> *To: *Hezron Gikanga <Hezron.Gikanga at thearcrayon.com>
> *Cc: *Ali Hussein <ali at hussein.me.ke>
> *Subject: *Re: [kictanet] Safaricom battling pricing power with CA
>
>
>
> Kivuva and listers
>
>
>
> This is a very interesting case and could probably serve as a case study
> worldwide. At this point in time I have more questions than answers:-
>
>
>
> 1. The Telco sector is an interesting one. Where do we draw the line
> between Market Power, abuse of Market Power, Free Markets, centralized
> control of power by Regulators? I can go on and on. *(there are several
> studiesconducted  on the state of competitiveness in the industry over the
> last decade plus, across different market segments, and when I was at
> Airtel Africa a decade ago, this is one of the ‘internecine wars’ we fought
> – both against the Regulator CA (whom I firmly believe isn’t fair), and
> against the dominant player then. A groundbreaking Analysys Mason  report
> back then was edited to soften some of the findings, and so nothing was
> (effectively done) to rein some of the predatory and abusive practices (in
> the name of GoK-ownership and ‘free/fair competition). There are also
> comparative studies from other markets, tests, and models to go by..…I
> doubt that there was goodwill/political willpower to effect some of the
> changes..case in point is that several draft pieces of
> legislation/amendments have been brought by individual legislators for a
> ‘market-correction’..they haven’t gone far..will Ezra Chiloba et al succeed
> now? Time wll tell..*
>
>
>
> 2. I can't help but wonder whether the current regulatory environment is
> fit for purpose and whether the Telcos themselves are stuck in the '80s and
> the regulator with them? Good question. *Refer to above. And the question
> of independence of the Regulators (not just CA and CAK) from undue
> political influence & fatalistic nationalistic tendencies….*Isn't it time
> to take into consideration that the cheese is moving or has moved and that
> VOIP-type services have eaten into the traditional voice market and these
> guys continue to fight for what's remaining of the market? *Yes, re the
> market segments looked at, and the inevitable nature of the evolution/march
> of the tech revolution*…Has a study been done on what percentage of the
> voice market is going to VOIP? *Do the technocrats in the Regulatory
> space have requisite skillsets and motivation to grasp the business models,
> workings of the industry, and import of their determinations? For the sake
> of argument, revisit the debate on distributed ledgers/block-chain….*
>
>
>
> 3. Are we fighting the wrong war? *Maybe. Reframe this to focus on the
> benefits for the consumer, and industry, if we are to truly be the ‘silicon
> savanna’ that we aspire to*
>
>
>
> 4. Last but not least how do we as a country reason out without going to
> court? *Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) works, but where all parties
> have faith in both the dispute resolution process/mechanisms, the
> competency and ‘agnosticism’ of the adjudicators and in the enforcement of
> the decisions reached. Without that the courts remain the only viable
> option for aggrieved parties (at the risk of falling out of favor with the
> Regulators et al..)*
>
>
>
> My two cowrie shells.
>
>
>
> Regards
>
>
>
> *Ali Hussein*
>
> Fintech | Digital Transformation
>
>
>
> Tel: +254 713 601113
>
> Twitter: @AliHKassim
>
> Skype: abu-jomo
>
> LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
>
>
>
>
>
>
> 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.
>
>
>
>
>
> On Mon, Jan 24, 2022 at 9:20 PM Mwendwa Kivuva via KICTANet <
> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>
> Safaricom has a huge pricing power in voice services, making it difficult
> for rivals Airtel Kenya and Telkom Kenya to compete with it, the
> Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) has said.
>
>
>
> The regulator made the disclosure in its response to a case filed by
> Safaricom at the Communications And Multimedia Appeals Tribunal seeking to
> stop CA from cutting the mobile termination rate (MTR) per minute to Sh0.12
> from Sh0.99.
>
>
>
> MTRs are the charges levied by a mobile service provider on other
> telecommunications service providers for terminating calls on its network.
>
>
>
> Safaricom argues that the reduction of the charge, which was to take
> effect at the start of this year, ignores the cost of doing business in the
> telecommunications industry.
>
>
>
> The regulator responded by stating that the leading telco has the lowest
> cost of operations, allowing it to run promotions at prices below the MTR
> and which its rivals are not in a position to match.
>
>
>
> Safaricom’s leading market share has seen it charge its rivals more than
> it pays out to them, leaving it in a net profitable position.
>
>
>
> More ...
> https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/bd/corporate/companies/safaricom-pricing-power-revealed-in-tariff-battle-3691550
>
> _______________________________________________
> KICTANet mailing list
> KICTANet at lists.kictanet.or.ke
> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
> Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet
> Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
>
> Unsubscribe or change your options at
> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/info%40alyhussein.com
>
>
> KICTANet is a multi-stakeholder Think Tank for people and institutions
> interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. KICTANet is a
> catalyst for reform in the Information and Communication Technology sector.
> Its work is guided by four pillars of Policy Advocacy, Capacity Building,
> Research, and Stakeholder Engagement.
>
> 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 - The Power of Communities, is Kenya's premier ICT policy
> engagement platform.
>
> [image: Image removed by sender.]
> _______________________________________________
> KICTANet mailing list
> KICTANet at lists.kictanet.or.ke
> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
> Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet
> Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
>
> Unsubscribe or change your options at
> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/otieno.barrack%40gmail.com
>
>
> KICTANet is a multi-stakeholder Think Tank for people and institutions
> interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. KICTANet is a
> catalyst for reform in the Information and Communication Technology sector.
> Its work is guided by four pillars of Policy Advocacy, Capacity Building,
> Research, and Stakeholder Engagement.
>
> 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 - The Power of Communities, is Kenya's premier ICT policy
> engagement platform.
>

-- 
Barrack O. Otieno
+254721325277
+254733206359
Skype: barrack.otieno
PGP ID: 0x2611D86A
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/pipermail/kictanet/attachments/20220131/953f3bf1/attachment.htm>