FOUR MORE NATIONAL OPERATORS JOIN EASSY PROJECT: BURUNDI, ZAMBIA AND LESOTHO

Tanzania Telecommunications Company Limited (TTCL) and three other national
operators from Burundi, Zambia and Lesotho will soon join the East African
Submarine Cable System (EASSy) project – bringing to 18 from 14 that signed earlier on. Together the operators will soon be required to raise USD100 million half of the amount of money required for the fiber optic cable on the east African coast. Other Telecom companies that signed under the project include Telecom Kenya. The 8,840 km undersea cable that will run from Djibouti to South Africa will cost over USD200 million, but its operation and maintenance will require funds that EASSy project officials say will be generated from voice and data traffic generated by telecom operators in the region.

KENYAN REGULATOR CCK SLAMS TELKOM OVER UNMET GOALS
Fixed line telecommunications service provider Telkom Kenya has failed to meet its licensing obligations, the sector regulator has said. In its latest annual report the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) says Telkom Kenya failed to translate its long time monopoly into increased number of fixed line connections over the past three years. Consequently, CCK says Telkom¹s failure will hamper efforts to encourage other players in the market to lower the cost of Internet and mobile phone use charges.

new licences
The Communication Commission of Kenya (CCK) has gazetted nine companies for various licences in the telecom sector. The latest issue of the Kenya Gazette Notice indicates that CCK has lined-up Comtec Intergration Systems and Lanbase Communications Limited for Internet Backbone and Gateway services operator’s licence. Two other companies linked with Comtec and Lanbase have been gazetted for
three different licences. Comtec Training and Management Services has been lined up for a local loop operator’s licence while Lanbase Communications is gunning for a leased circuit resale licence. Comtec has also applied for a Private Data Network Operator (PDNO) licence.Also gazetted are KTIG Consulting Limited and Africa Spinoff Limited for a Local loop operator’s licence. Africa Spinoff Limited has also applied for a PDNO licence.Callkey (East Africa) Limited and EDP Limited have been lined up for an Internet Service Provider (ISP) licence while Scandinavia Express Kenya Limited is currently waiting for a regional courier operator’s licence.

– The move has full Cabinet backing and is said to relate to investigations into improprieties in the selection of a Second National Operator.
– Unfortunately, no evidence has yet been produced as to what these improprieties are and unless legal action follows, DG Sammy Kirui will have in effect been judged guilty without any formal evidence being presented.
– The losing bidders for the SNO licence included a group of wealthy diaspora Kenyans based in the USA.

Industry in Disarray
– The CCK Board plays such a crucial role that now no further licenses can be issued, no disputes can be settled and no formal regulatory interventions can take place and there is no clear communication from the Government as to how affairs within the sector are to be managed”.
– If you were of a paranoid turn of mind, you might think that this is just what the Government might want. It means that there is no-one who can order Telkom Kenya to behave in a competitive fashion. The near-bankrupt Telkom Kenya can stagger forward without significant competition. And illegal call diversion within Telkom Kenya may or may not be continuing but there is no way of telling because any investigation has now been halted.