MNOs are in this for the money. We must never forget that. That they offer a social/economic good in the process is a consequence of their business not the inspiration for it. This is why none but Safaricom thought it was a good idea to put up a 3G network in a pitifully poor country. Safaricom earned their dominance but they still must be controlled by government. I believe the same happened to Microsoft in the US when they grew too big they had to sell a stake to the government. I would rather trust the government than a private firm out to make profit.<div>
<br></div><div>Attempting to divorce politics from reality is foolhardy and will not work. Show me a completely independent body anywhere in the west ,east south or north of the planet. Just one.<br><div><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">
On Thu, Aug 30, 2012 at 8:00 AM, Ali Hussein <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:ali@hussein.me.ke" target="_blank">ali@hussein.me.ke</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div bgcolor="#FFFFFF"><div><div bgcolor="#FFFFFF"><div><div><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">John</span></div><div><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">Well put. Let me add my two cents here.</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">The fact that we are discussing these very pertinent issues goes to show how far we have come as a country. And we should never take that for granted. </span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">Washington, sometimes desktop activism as you put it actually does work. Cases in point:-</span></div><div><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><br>
</span></div><div><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">1. The very lively debate on Internet Governance and ITRs that culminated in the IGFs that are now framing our positions prior to the Dubai WCIT in December. <br>
<br>
2. The Corporate Governance debate on KeNIC that resulted in an open AGM and hopefully progress in reenergizing the Organisation.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">I'm sure there are other examples so don't despair as I believe the space is now open for Kenyams to provide concrete contributions for the betterment of our sector and the country at large.</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">Back to the issue of the Telco sector. I honestly think that the problem lies mostly with the telcos themselves and not the regulator/Executive. <br>
</span></div><div><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">One contributor mentioned the issue of Safaricom being the dominant player and engaging in monopolistic behavior. How did this happen? I recall a time when Airtel/Celtel/Zain had more subscribers or equal to Safaricom's. What happened?</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">At the risk of sounding simplistic Telco services are now generic which basically means that what differentiates is the value addition, customer service and marketing. And let's not forget Data. More than half the country is still not experiencing high speed Internet - what we now take for granted in Nairobi. </span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">Towards the end of Ramadhan I visited my home county of Kilifi as is our tradition to break the fast with the wazees. I found it very frustrating that the Internet speeds I've now come to take for granted in Nairobi were non existent in the counties - at least in Kilifi. I'm willing to bet that this is true in the majority of the counties.</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">This leads me to start thinking why are the Telcos not picking up these low hanging fruits? Could it be that they are so intent on competing with each other they have become myopic? I know one of the reasons that they may raise is the huge investment required to ensure this type of service. However, how many telcos right now are willing to co-invest in the infrastructure required? All we hear is this individual telco/ISP announcing another infrastructure investment. <br>
</span></div><div><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">In my opinion this discussion on executive interference at the CCK is a red herring. It does not detract from the fact that sone of the Telcos and ISPs business models are broken and it's just a matter of time before they drown in red ink. </span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">Telcos/ISPs need to understand and embrace the concept of 'Frenemy'. Join forces and invest together in infrastructure and compete on service differentiation. </span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><br></span></div><div><div><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">Ali Hussein</span></div><div><br></div><div>+254 773/713 601113</div><div><br></div><div>Sent from my iPhone®</div>
</div><div class="im"><div><br>On Aug 29, 2012, at 6:32 PM, John Kariuki <<a href="mailto:ngethe.kariuki2007@yahoo.co.uk" target="_blank">ngethe.kariuki2007@yahoo.co.uk</a>> wrote:<br>
<br></div><div></div></div><div><div class="h5"><blockquote type="cite"><div><div style="font-size:12pt;font-family:times new roman,new york,times,serif"><div><span>Walu,Edith,Listers,</span></div>
<div style="font-size:16px;font-style:normal;background-color:transparent;font-family:times new roman,new york,times,serif"><span></span> </div>
<div style="font-size:16px;font-style:normal;background-color:transparent;font-family:times new roman,new york,times,serif"><span>The issue we face now seems to be a challenge facing many democratic governments(right from Canada through US,UK upto Australia) in the 21st century in an era of liberalization and globalization.</span></div>
<div style="font-size:16px;font-style:normal;background-color:transparent;font-family:times new roman,new york,times,serif"><span></span> </div>
<div style="font-size:16px;font-style:normal;background-color:transparent;font-family:times new roman,new york,times,serif"><span>Authors Warwick Funnel,Robert Jupe and Jane Andrew in their book "IN GOVERMENT WE TRUST",2009 have outlined these issues and quoted cases .</span></div>
<div style="font-size:16px;font-style:normal;background-color:transparent;font-family:times new roman,new york,times,serif"><span>Let me quote just two lines on pages 48 and 49 of the book.</span></div>
<div style="font-size:16px;font-style:normal;background-color:transparent;font-family:times new roman,new york,times,serif"><span>They quote the concerns expressed by Adam Smith about "the tendency for the powerful in business to ingratiate themselves with goverment so that they might pursuade it to use its powers for their own benefit',p48</span></div>
<div style="font-size:16px;font-style:normal;background-color:transparent;font-family:times new roman,new york,times,serif"><span>"....'powerful capital interests could influence state policy to benefit them at the expense of labour'.,p49.</span></div>
<div style="font-size:16px;font-style:normal;background-color:transparent;font-family:times new roman,new york,times,serif"><span></span> </div>
<div style="font-size:16px;font-style:normal;background-color:transparent;font-family:times new roman,new york,times,serif"><span>Regarding our Mobile Termination Rate debate, the matter is one of competition law in telecommunications sector. In this case Safaricom has the largest mobile network by far and Telkom has the largest fixed network. So if you wish to call fixed line,there is no choice but to terminate in Telkom.Therefore there is little,if any, competition in the fixed termination market segment.They are virtually a monopoly in that market segment.</span></div>
<div style="font-size:16px;font-style:normal;background-color:transparent;font-family:times new roman,new york,times,serif"><span>In nearly similar situation, a very large number of mobile customers are on Safaricom network.If you wish to call them,there is really no choice but to terminate in the Safaricom network. By virtue of their size ,it is not difficult to notice that they have significant market power in that market segment.</span></div>
<div style="font-size:16px;font-style:normal;background-color:transparent;font-family:times new roman,new york,times,serif"><span></span> </div>
<div style="font-size:16px;font-style:normal;background-color:transparent;font-family:times new roman,new york,times,serif"><span>It is therefore in the interest of Safaricom and Telkom to keep mobile termination rates as high as possible since there is little or no competitive pressure in that market segment for them.</span></div>
<div style="font-size:16px;font-style:normal;background-color:transparent;font-family:times new roman,new york,times,serif"><span></span> </div>
<div style="font-size:16px;font-style:normal;background-color:transparent;font-family:times new roman,new york,times,serif"><span>In almost similar case involving Vodafone and others in UK in January 2003, the Competition Competition concluded that....."There is vigorous competition amomg MNOs(mobile network operators)<var></var> to attract and sign up subscribers to their networks.......but this is funded by excess returns from termination charges......this 'distorts the volume and direction of traffic on the network,leading to a distorted pattern of usage by consumers'.</span></div>
<div style="font-size:16px;font-style:normal;background-color:transparent;font-family:times new roman,new york,times,serif"><span></span> </div>
<div style="font-size:16px;font-style:normal;background-color:transparent;font-family:times new roman,new york,times,serif"><span></span> </div>
<div style="font-size:16px;font-style:normal;background-color:transparent;font-family:times new roman,new york,times,serif"><span>John Kariuki</span></div>
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</div><b><span style="FONT-WEIGHT:bold">From:</span></b> Walubengo J <<a href="mailto:jwalu@yahoo.com" target="_blank">jwalu@yahoo.com</a>><br><b><span style="FONT-WEIGHT:bold">To:</span></b> <a href="mailto:ngethe.kariuki2007@yahoo.co.uk" target="_blank">ngethe.kariuki2007@yahoo.co.uk</a> <br>
<b><span style="FONT-WEIGHT:bold">Cc:</span></b> KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <<a href="mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke" target="_blank">kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke</a>> <br><b><span style="FONT-WEIGHT:bold">Sent:</span></b> Wednesday, 29 August 2012, 16:13<br>
<b><span style="FONT-WEIGHT:bold">Subject:</span></b> Re: [kictanet] Kibaki, Raila meddling stalls CCK actions<br></font></div><u></u>
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<td valign="top">@Edith,<br><br>Ave been working on some academic model whose preliminary data seems to support Mr. Presidents interventions i.e. the Telco market must project significant Returns for the investor to continue playing. Competition is good but cut-throat competition leaves the industry (Operators, Govt and Users) worse off than before. Think about it - would you like FREE internet that is so congested that you cannot send an email? Or would you rather pay something extra for the reasonable use of the medium?<br>
<br>Going back to Mr. Prime ministers interventions - of protecting frequencies allegedly irregularly acquired by others. My model has not factored in frequencies yet - But I think CCK may have a bigger impact on the market by recovering frequencies held up by the Military (there's a band that ITU declared for public use but previous reports indicated our Military seems to hoard this band - not sure
if this has changed).<br><br>As to whether the President's and/or the Prime Ministers interventions are legal? It is debatable. However, I think the current legislative framework - Kenya Comm Amendment Act 2009 - provides for the government in power to direct the Regulator - BUT through Policy frameworks - rather than through specific or selected directives arising from which CEO had dinner with the President/Prime minister the previous night.<br>
<br>walu.<br><br> <br><br>--- On <b>Wed, 8/29/12, Edith Adera <i><<a href="mailto:eadera@idrc.or.ke" target="_blank">eadera@idrc.or.ke</a>></i></b> wrote:<br>
<blockquote style="BORDER-LEFT:rgb(16,16,255) 2px solid;PADDING-LEFT:5px;MARGIN-LEFT:5px"><br>From: Edith Adera <<a href="mailto:eadera@idrc.or.ke" target="_blank">eadera@idrc.or.ke</a>><br>Subject: Re: [kictanet] Kibaki, Raila meddling stalls CCK actions<br>
To: <a href="mailto:jwalu@yahoo.com" target="_blank">jwalu@yahoo.com</a><br>Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" <<a href="mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke" target="_blank">kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke</a>><br>
Date: Wednesday, August 29, 2012, 1:06 PM<br><br>
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<div dir="ltr"><font color="#000000" face="Tahoma">Any reactions from Bwana Ndemo, who seems to have received one of the letters?</font></div>
<div dir="ltr"><font face="tahoma"></font> </div>
<div dir="ltr"><font face="tahoma">Is this also the reason why Airtel changed their rates to subscribers from 1 shilling (permanent!! - the word has earned new meaning) back to ksh 3 per minute? No one answered this question when I asked a while back. Airtel, why the change?</font></div>
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<div dir="ltr"><font face="tahoma">As stakeholders, should we accept "regulatory capture" in this industry?</font></div>
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<div dir="ltr"><font face="tahoma">Edith</font> </div>
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</div><font face="Tahoma"><b>From:</b> kictanet [<a href="mailto:kictanet-bounces+eadera=idrc.or.ke@lists.kictanet.or.ke" target="_blank">kictanet-bounces+eadera=idrc.or.ke@lists.kictanet.or.ke</a>] On Behalf Of Grace Githaiga [<a href="mailto:ggithaiga@hotmail.com" target="_blank">ggithaiga@hotmail.com</a>]<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Wednesday, August 29, 2012 12:36 AM<br><b>To:</b> Edith Adera<br><b>Cc:</b> KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions<br><b>Subject:</b> [kictanet] Kibaki, Raila meddling stalls CCK actions<br></font><u></u></div>
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<div style="LINE-HEIGHT:1.5em;TEXT-TRANSFORM:uppercase;PADDING-LEFT:13px;FONT-FAMILY:Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;MARGIN-BOTTOM:5px;COLOR:rgb(51,51,51);FONT-WEIGHT:bold"><font size="3">IN SUMMARY</font></div>
<div style="PADDING-BOTTOM:0px;MARGIN:0px;PADDING-LEFT:0px;PADDING-RIGHT:0px;FONT-FAMILY:Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;COLOR:rgb(68,68,68);PADDING-TOP:0px">
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<li style="PADDING-BOTTOM:0px;LINE-HEIGHT:1.5em;MARGIN:0px 0px 0px 1.5em;PADDING-LEFT:0px;PADDING-RIGHT:0px;PADDING-TOP:0px"><font size="3">The President’s intervention, which amounts to political meddling in the work of an independent state organ, has for the second time in as many years stopped the industry regulator, the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK), from lowering the Mobile Termination Rate (MTR).</font> </li>
<li style="PADDING-BOTTOM:0px;LINE-HEIGHT:1.5em;MARGIN:0px 0px 0px 1.5em;PADDING-LEFT:0px;PADDING-RIGHT:0px;PADDING-TOP:0px"><font size="3">MTR is the price that operators pay each other for calls terminating in their networks from outside and ultimately determines call costs.</font> </li>
<li style="PADDING-BOTTOM:0px;LINE-HEIGHT:1.5em;MARGIN:0px 0px 0px 1.5em;PADDING-LEFT:0px;PADDING-RIGHT:0px;PADDING-TOP:0px"><font size="3">Mr Kibaki, who has been acting on behalf of Safaricom and Telkom Kenya, issued the directive in a letter to Information permanent secretary Bitange Ndemo, stating that there should be no change in the MTR until a fresh study of the same is carried out.</font> </li>
<li style="PADDING-BOTTOM:0px;LINE-HEIGHT:1.5em;MARGIN:0px 0px 0px 1.5em;PADDING-LEFT:0px;PADDING-RIGHT:0px;PADDING-TOP:0px"><font size="3">Prime Minister Raila Odinga, jumped into the CCK’s regulatory mandate with a similar directive on behalf of yet another big business – Royal Media Services.</font> </li>
<li style="PADDING-BOTTOM:0px;LINE-HEIGHT:1.5em;MARGIN:0px 0px 0px 1.5em;PADDING-LEFT:0px;PADDING-RIGHT:0px;PADDING-TOP:0px"><font size="3">Mr Odinga wrote to the CCK director-general asking him to withdraw the notice he had published of intention to revoke frequencies that the media house is accused of acquiring irregularly.</font></li>
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