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<h2><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Candara","sans-serif";
font-weight:normal'>Hi. Interesting development this must be. We would be happy
to have your views on this article below appearing on “Airtel Kenya”
Facebook page (which we are unsure if it is the company’s official page).
<o:p></o:p></span></h2>
<p class=MsoNormal>Kind regards,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Stephen<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Stephen Mutoro<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><u>Secretary General<o:p></o:p></u></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Consumers Federation of Kenya (COFEK)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Natu Court, Block F-45<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Ngong Road/Ring Rd Kilimani Junction<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>P.O Box 2733-00200, City Square, NAIROBI, Kenya<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Tel. 254-20-3861718, 3861719, 2300859<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Fax. 254-20-3861719 <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Cellphones: 0715555550, 0736965590, 0770700007<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>E-mail: <a href="mailto:hotline@cofek.co.ke"><span
style='color:blue'>hotline@cofek.co.ke</span></a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Website: <a href="http://www.cofek.co.ke/"><span
style='color:blue'>www.cofek.co.ke</span></a><b><o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>*************************<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i>Restoring Consumer Pride and Confidence!</i><span
style='font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<h2><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>airtel
accuses Safaricom of sabotaging Mobile Number Portability<o:p></o:p></span></h2>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>by <a
href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Airtel-Kenya/122273904502736">Airtel Kenya</a>
on Tuesday, April 12, 2011 at 3:46pm<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>April 12,
2011… The success of the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) in Kenya is at
risk with reports indicating that some operators may be employing under hand
tactics to sabotage the MNP process, barely a week after its launch. While
lauding the Communications Communication of Kenya for making MNP a reality at
an event to welcome the very first customers moving to airtel from other networks
today, Managing Director Rene Meza raised a red flag saying several
anti-competition tactics were being used to block customers seeking to move to
its network. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>He said
that whereas initial technical hiccups in the implementation process had been deemed
to be normal and expected, it is now emerging that some operators are reluctant
to address the bottlenecks expeditiously, going against the spirit of MNP
project of giving the customer freedom to own their number and move to the
network of their choice within the stipulated terms. “How do you explain
several complaints received from customers who have opted to move their number
to airtel from Safaricom being unable to receive calls from Safaricom numbers
for several days, while they are able to communicate on all platforms on the
airtel network with the same number?” posed Mr. Meza. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>He said
contrary to the regulations issued by the Communications Commission of Kenya,
some operators, especially Safaricom, were still trying to woo back customers
who had already ported out of their network. “It is amazing that after
completing the 48 hour porting process, some players had deliberately declined
to de-activate the old sim cards from their network. In essence, what this
means is that the customer has not completely moved to his network of choice
but is still held captive by Safaricom, an act that is anti patriotic and gross
abuse of dominance by Safaricom clearly designed to beat efforts of the
Government to fully liberalize the sector” he said. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Prior to the
implementation of MNP, all operators had expressed commitment to ensure the
service was implemented smoothly, a move that was seen as another milestone in
Kenya’s telecommunication sector. Largely seen as the next frontier in
the battle for subscribers, the successful implementation of MNP is a test-case
for CCK’s commitment to overseeing reforms in Kenya’s
telecommunication sector. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Mr. Meza
added: “We have referred the matter to CCK since we feel that if the
anti-competition tendencies are not weeded out at the onset, customers may not
get a chance to enjoy real freedom and benefits of MNP. - END -<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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