Geoffrey Irungu
23 November 2004
Nairobi — VSAT will remain restricted to private networks and services for intra-corporate communications
Although the Government has given the impression that it has freed the telecommunications industry, a newly crafted policy indicates that some key areas are still subject to restricted competition.
The National Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Policy dated October 2004 shows that very small aperture terminal (VSAT) business and broadcasting signal distribution will be limited to a few firms.
The policy produced by the Ministry of Information and Communications further indicates that it may not be long before the government reviews policy the number of companies that can enter into national telecommunications and mobile phone services operations.
With regard to VSAT, it will remain restricted to private networks and services for intra-corporate communications. International commercial VSAT networks will be a preserve of the national telecommunications operators (NTOs).
Local and national long-distance communication is to be restricted to NTOs, who will also retain the international gateway and service business.
Telkom Kenya is the only national telecom operator and a second national operator (SNO) is expected to be licensed in the near future. The licensing of an SNO stalled mid this year, when the process of tendering was ruled to be have been dogged by irregularities and was therefore going to be repeated.
For the NTOs, the policy to restrict them to two for now, is supposed to be reviewed in line with "prevailing market and economic conditions."
It is unclear why the policy says that internet node and backbone operators are to be restricted to only NTOs, when a gazette notice put out over a month ago indicated that this business was open to as many operators as possible.
Even mobile phone service firms are free to have their own backbones, the notice said. It is possible that this was an oversight in the policy formulation but it could subject the companies involved to a climate of uncertainty.
With regard to postal services market structure, printing and issuance of stamps, provision of private letter boxes and street posting boxes will be restricted to Postal Corporation of Kenya.
However, direct mail marketing, electronic hybrid mail, courier and parcel services will be subject to full competition although a licence will still be required from the Communications Commission of Kenya.
On broadcasting, free-to-air radio/television and terrestrial subscription TV service will be fully liberalised but it will be subject to availability of radio spectrum.
However, the business of satellite free-to-air radio/TV service, satellite subscription radio/television and cable TV subscription service will be fully competitive without any special provisions.
Gateway services for global mobile personal communications by satellite (GMPCS) will be offered only by NTOs. But there will be full competition in the provision of GMPCS user terminals under a licence.
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