Joseph Bonyo
31 October 2009
Nairobi — Mobile phone service providers now say that they can recoup their investment if fees charged to obtain the 3G network spectrum licence is lowered. The Sh2 billion charge currently payable to the Communication Commission of Kenya (CCK), they say, hampers the effective rolling out of the technology.
The 3G technology is designed to enable mobile operators offer its users a wide range of advanced services, including high-speed data, efficiently while achieving greater network capacity.
Telkom Kenya chief executive officer Mickael Ghossein says it is only economical for the players if the fee is reduced. "With the current fee in place, it can take an operator about 15 years or even more to recoup the investments they put in rolling out the network," Mr Ghossein told the Sunday Business.
Even though players are seeking a cut in the pricing, most have said they intend to roll out the network soon meaning they are willing to pay the fee as it currently stands.
Matter of time
Zain Kenya recently announced that they would be operating on the platform within the first half of next year. "We have applied for the licence and hope that it will be granted to us. If this is done then we are optimistic of rolling out within the first six months of next year," said Mr Rene Meza, chief executive Zain Kenya.
Orange, the mobile phone service brand of Telkom Kenya, has also indicated that it would be a matter of time before they take the same route. The latest entrant to the market, Essar Telkom Kenya, also hinted at similar plans a year ago. However, little is known of their intentions of rolling out the 3G technology under the yu brand.
The pace and level of employment is, however, yet to be known as the regulator remains mum on it. Attempts by the Sunday Nation to reach the CCK commissioner general were unsuccessful.
Listed mobile telephony firm Safaricom is so far the only network operating on the 3G technology. This, according to industry analysts, has given the company a competitive edge over its peers who still run on EDGE.
The technology uses the same equipment as GSM save for a few minor modifications to provide faster data speeds. But according to the firm's chief executive officer Michael Joseph, the championing by other players for the lowering of the costs is not welcome.
"We oppose the ongoing lobby to lower the fees for the simple reason that we feel it is based on the wrong premise. While it is our opinion that the fee is high, it would be unfair to us to charge our competitors a lower rate," Mr Joseph told the Sunday Nation.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2009 The Nation. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
