Companies

Telcos lose Sh280 million to vandals

wangusi

Communications Authority of Kenya director-general Francis Wangusi. FILE PHOTO | NMG

Kenya's telecommunication service providers have cumulatively lost more than Sh280 million mostly through acts of vandalism, the industry regulator has said.

Francis Wangusi, the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) director general, has said the losses are largely attributed to terror attacks and destruction of property as part of political violence following the recently concluded October 26 repeat election.

“These incidents have been occasioned by terrorist attacks specifically in Mandera, Garissa and parts of Lamu counties....vandalism of mobile telecommunications masts and other forms of infrastructure has also been noted in some parts of the country, particularly in Kisumu County, in the aftermath of the just-concluded electioneering period,” said Mr Wangusi Wednesday.

He noted that the deliberate destruction of communications infrastructure under the false belief that it belongs to particular operators was misleading, saying Base Transmitter Stations (BTS) deployed in the country accommodate multiple players through infrastructure sharing arrangements.

“To vandalise the existing infrastructure, when industry players are investing billions of shillings to deploy ICT infrastructure to close existing communication gaps, is not only a demonstration of bad faith but also unacceptable,” said Mr Wangusi.

He noted that in the recent past, close to eight base stations have been damaged across the country thereby cutting off communication among locals.

READ: Safaricom expresses concern over ‘huge’ losses from vandalised masts